


A Kunoichi At Heart

by Chloryl



Category: Naruto
Genre: CYOA, Choose Your Own Adventure, F/M, Gen, Interactive, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-19
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 20:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 48,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloryl/pseuds/Chloryl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You've wanted to be a ninja ever since you watched Naruto. You had always dreamed that one day you would wind up in the shinobi world. When that fateful day arrives, how will you react? And more importantly, what will you do? Everything is up to you!<br/>Reader x various (or none), depending on your choices in the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction: The Vanishing TV

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Naruto, you, nor a Naruto plush toy.  
> This is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure story featuring a female!reader.
> 
> Since Luna is down at the moment, I''ll take this chance to do some revamping and editing so that the early chapters are more presentable. For those who've read this fic already, most changes will involve fixing up some of my weird adjective usage that I seemed to be rather fond of when I first wrote "A Kunoichi At Heart". Thanks for reading!

You flipped through the various channels aimlessly, hoping to stumble upon your favourite TV show. No luck. You groaned. Why was there nothing good on when you had free time and were bored out of your mind? Summer sure was taking its toll on your sanity. You almost wished you were back in school again and sighed at your own preposterous desperation.  

You made to turn off the television and contemplated your situation. Was there really nothing to do? Your index finger hovered over the power button when a flash of yellow and orange on the screen caught your eye. You blinked in disbelief.

“Hey, it’s Naruto!” you laughed delightedly, setting the remote down and leaning back into your chair in anticipation. It was one of the shows you used to really enjoy, something you had been hopelessly obsessed with when you were younger. You even had your own Naruto plush toy. Leaning back into the comfort of the couch and closing your eyes, you waited for the show to start.

 You were so caught up in reminiscing those memories that you did not immediately register the fact that the theme song had faded away much earlier than it should have. Perhaps you had just forgotten how it went, after all, it had been a long time since you had last watched Naruto. But you also didn’t notice that the background noise sounded closer and much more real than it should.

Your eyes flew open.

“Huh? Where did my TV go?” you wondered aloud, dumfounded. Directly in front of you where the screen should have been was an empty wall. It wasn’t just your imagination – you really did have a television set a moment ago. You squinted at the blank space on your wall, wondering if you were just imagining things. Perhaps you never really did have a TV in the first place…

Without a warning, the ground began to lurch unpleasantly. You squeezed your eyes tightly shut as your head started spinning. Gasping as you felt a sudden stabbing pain in your arms and chest, you groped blindly for the remote control, your thoughts muddled. Through the closed lids of your eyes, you could see a bright whirlwind of swirling colours. And as abruptly as this strange incident began, you blacked out.

-:-

“[Name]. [Name]! Are you all right?” There was someone pounding frantically on your door.

You blinked groggily, struggling to get up. Who would be here at such a strange hour? Your body felt oddly numb, as if you had overslept. But as you looked outside your window, you realized that the sky was still dark. You scanned your surroundings, feeling uneasy. You didn’t recognize the unfamiliar ceiling, and neither did the strange furniture look like the stuff in your home. Upon closer inspection, you could see that the room did resemble your house a bit. You decided that you must be dreaming. You glanced around cautiously, preparing to defend yourself if someone jumped out and attacked. The pounding grew louder. And who was that at the door?

“[Name]!” the voice yelled again. It was unmistakably male, and it wasn’t a voice you recognized. Though, come to think of it, you might have heard it somewhere before, perhaps in a movie or on the radio. How odd.

“Um…who’s there?” You asked warily, surprised at how different your voice sounded. It was still your voice, you could tell. But more like…your voice when you were younger. You stood up suddenly, feeling dazed and disoriented. You glanced around the room again, half-expecting it to melt away like it sometimes did in dreams. You walked to a corner of your room, inspecting the walls and poked it experimentally at random. Then your eyes moved to where your mirror was. You peered at your reflection and nearly toppled over in shock.

You were younger.

“Gah!” you cried out in surprise, staring at your twelve-year-old self. You slowly brought your finger to the smooth glass and your reflection mimicked your movements. You let out a frightened squeak and withdrew your hand as if the mirror had burned you.

“[Name]! Are you okay? Open the door!” You had completely forgotten about that person.

“Coming!” you called hurriedly, mentally cringing at the strangeness if your voice. You fumbled with the locks and yanked the doorknob open. Then you nearly tumbled backwards in shock for a second time, but you managed to catch yourself before you fell.

Standing before you was a man with dark brown hair tied in a stiff ponytail, a scar running across the bridge of his nose, and wearing a very recognizable green vest.

It was Umino Iruka. In person.

You promptly fainted.

_Go to **[Chapter 2.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2003404)**_


	2. Decisions, Decisions!

You woke up to someone lightly shaking your shoulders and you rolled over, groaning.

“[Name]?” a soft, concerned voice pierced the haze of confusion.

You froze, suddenly remembering everything that happened before you suddenly lost consciousness.

_How does that guy that looks like Iruka know your name?_

You must be losing your mind, you decided. You staggered to your feet, looked around and spotted him right away.

“Uh, hi!” you said brightly, feeling like a complete idiot. “Are you Iruka-sensei?”

The man stared at you, looking confused and troubled by your question. “Of course!” he spluttered, “What kind of a question is that?”

Your eyes widened. “So, how do you know my name?”

Now Iruka looked positively alarmed. “You’re one of my students, why would I not know your name?”

It was your turn to look worried. “One of your students? What do you mean?”

Iruka just stared at you for a long time, his mouth gaping. Finally, he spoke, and his voice was low and urgent. “Is this some kind of a joke, [Name]?”

You nearly exploded with frustration. You were the one who was supposed to ask that question, not him! He was supposed to be a character that lived behind a TV screen and in the harmless, imaginary world of Naruto. You stopped in your tracks. Wait a second – the world of _Naruto_?! Could it be…?

“Iruka-sensei?” you interrupted, without bothering to answer his question, “I-is this the Naruto world?”

To your amazement, his expression changed into one of amusement. “Naruto’s world? What made you think that?” he began to laugh heartily. “And to think I was worried about you being amnesic! Ah, sometimes I think I worry too much.” he laughed, his features relaxing. 

You gaped at him, looking utterly bemused. When he caught sight of the look on your face, the laughter died in his throat. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You really don’t know who I am.”

You didn’t know how to answer that. Did watching Iruka on the TV screen count? You gulped, not wanting to seem like a creepy stalker. You shook your head and his face hardened.

“Do you remember anything at all?” he pressed, “The Academy, your teachers, classmates…”

“Not in the way you mean,” you said, stifling a panicked giggle. _Oh my goodness, he’ll really think I’m a stalker. Or a freak. What should I tell him? That in my world, theirs is an anime?! That he’s supposed to be a fictional character?!_

Fortunately, Iruka didn’t push you for details. He just nodded and clenched his fists. You sighed in relief.

“Then, how do you know _my_ name?” he asked, looking intently at your face.

“Um…”

Shoot. What should you say now?

_If you tell him that you’re not sure, go **[Chapter 3.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2004486)**_

_If you tell him the truth, go to **[Chapter 4.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2004968)**_

_If you tell him you don’t want to tell him, go to[ **Chapter 5.**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2005520)_


	3. Meeting the Hokage

You decide to tell him that you had no idea. It was better to play safe, you thought.

“I’m not exactly sure,” you confessed, mentally crossing your fingers and hoping that Iruka would not be too suspicious. To your surprise, he nodded again.

“You probably lost your memory somehow,” he decided, “I’ll take you to the Third Hokage-sama, and we’ll see what we can do.”

“Sounds good,” you agreed calmly. On the inside, you were euphoric. You were actually _in_ the Naruto world! Though it had been terrifying at first, visiting this fictional world was the best thing that had ever happened to you in your life. Or maybe, it was just a dream. Your excitement died down a bit and you pinched yourself painfully on the arm.

“Ouch!” you yelped.

“Are you all right, [Name]?” Iruka asked, his eyebrows furrowing in worry.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you mumbled, trying to keep an enormous, silly grin off your face. This was _real!_ You followed Iruka out of your front door. Leaving the house, you realized that it had morphed into a Konoha-style apartment from the outside – completely inconspicuous. Your grin widened.

Iruka glanced at you curiously, and you blushed, averting your gaze. You walked silently behind him as he led you through the familiar streets towards a building you recognized as the Academy.

You entered and followed Iruka through the hallways until you stopped in front of the door to the Hokage’s office. Iruka knocked twice and you held your breath.

“Come in.”

Iruka pushed the door open and both of you slipped inside.

“Ah, Iruka, [Name]. What brings you here? As I recall, you both have class right now.”

You started at the sound of your own name. The _Hokage_ knew who you were? You felt honoured.

“That’s exactly why we’re here, Hokage-sama,” Iruka sighed heavily, “[Name] never misses a single class, and I was worried when she didn’t show up today. When I went to check on her, I heard a scream coming from her apartment.”

You raised your eyebrow. You screamed? You didn’t seem to remember it. Then Iruka continued on with his story, and explained how, when you woke up, you had lost your memory.

“She remembered my name,” Iruka recalled thoughtfully, “And also Naruto’s as well. But she says she doesn’t remember anything else, or at least ‘not in the way I mean’.”

The Third dipped his head. “I see.” He began to pace slowly back and forth across the room.

“H-hokage-sama,” you stammered, testing the unfamiliar honorific nervously. Why had Iruka brought you to the most powerful man in the village? Surely he had other duties to tend to, ones more important than reassuring a wayward child and a worried Academy teacher. Remembering stories about village infiltration attempts, you wondered if Iruka’s manner was all a ploy.

“Yes, child?” he replied, his back to you.

“D-do I belong in this world?” your face turned red as you said it. It was such a foolish question! Of course you did not belong in this world. You lived on Earth, not in the fictional shinobi world you loved so much. But deep inside your heart…

_…you wished that you did belong. Go to[ **Chapter 6.**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2005540)_

_…you wanted to go home. Go to **[Chapter 7.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2008284)**_


	4. The Effects of Genjutsu

You decided to tell Iruka the truth. After all, what good would it do if you lied to him? The truth…he would never believe you though. You were positive.

“Iruka-sensei?” you said quietly. He was startled at your change in tone.

“I think you’re making a mistake. I don’t belong in this world. I don’t really know why I’m here, or why you know who I am, but I’m not a ninja from Konoha. I’m just a regular girl from a place called Earth.”

You continued to ramble, explaining why you knew who he was, that the Naruto world was fictional where you lived. You even mentioned your Naruto plushie. At last, you were done, and you stared at Iruka, wondering what he thought about all this.

He pursed his lips and tapped his nose, thinking. “Either you’re making this up –”

“But I’m not!” you protested. Iruka raised one finger to silence you.

“Or someone has placed a very powerful, virtually undetectable genjutsu which fooled me into thinking that you were a student in the Academy, when in reality, I’ve never met you until today,” he finished.

Your eyes widened in astonishment. “Who would do that?”

Iruka shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m not sure what anyone would gain out of such an arrangement. Unless, of course, if you were a spy from an enemy shinobi village…”

You glared at him. “I’m not even a shinobi!”

He smirked. “That’s why I think my first theory is more plausible.”

You resisted the urge to smack him. “And I’m not lying either.”

Iruka sighed and slumped, looking defeated. “That’s not for me to decide. In the meantime, let’s pay a visit to the Hokage. If there’s anyone, he’ll be the one who’ll know what to do with you.”

You did not like the sound of that. You gulped audibly.

“All right, let’s go,” you said, attempting to sound braver than you felt.

Iruka led you to the Academy building where the Hokage’s office was located. He knocked on the door, and then pushed it open.

“Hello, Iruka,” the aged Hokage greeted him. His gaze shifted and he looked at you curiously. “And who is this?”  
Iruka looked extremely confused for a moment. Then a look of comprehension dawned on his face. “So that’s how it is,” he murmured to himself, then he straightened up and addressed the other man. “This is [Name], Hokage-sama.” Then Iruka explained your story in detail.

The Hokage listened attentively, nodding every once in a while. When Iruka finished, he said, “I am convinced that you are right, Iruka. And it seems the only person who is affected by this curious genjutsu is you.”

Iruka flushed, “I, uh, sorry, sorry.”

The Hokage smiled, but turned to you instead. “I apologize for the problems whoever did this to you has caused, [Name]. I will reverse it for you, if it is in my power.”

“So, I don’t belong in this world?” you asked softly, dreading the answer.

_Go to **[Chapter 7.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2008284)**_

 


	5. Tantrum

Humph. Why do you have to tell him? It was none of his business. Besides, you weren’t too keen on having him call you a stalker when you weren’t.

“I don’t want to tell you,” you said defiantly.

Iruka choked, “Wh-what?!”

“You heard me.”

“I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU AND THIS IS WHAT YOU TELL ME?!”

You backed away in alarm. You did _not_ expect his temper to flare up like that all of a sudden.

“Okay, okay, calm down…” you said, shielding your face with your arms. Iruka glared at you, his face still purple from the effort of yelling.

“Will you stop playing games, [Name]?” he asked stiffly, his voice more or less under control.

“Yeah.” You had no choice in the matter, after all. You didn’t want him to explode again.

“Well?” he prompted, nodding in encouragement.

_Go to[ **Chapter 3.**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2004486)_


	6. Shadow Clones

The Third looked surprised at your question. “Of course you belong in this world,” he stated calmly. “We just need to figure out how to reverse this jutsu that erased your memory and you’ll be all right.”

But they didn’t understand. If you belonged to the ninja world, to Naruto’s world – which reminded you that you really wanted to meet him before Iruka and the Hokage kicked you out for being an impostor – then why do you clearly remember life back on Earth, where this world was nothing but an imaginary one behind the safety of a TV screen? It wasn’t a case of lost memory, it was a case of mistaken identity.

You wanted nothing more than to be accepted into Konoha society, but you were not a shinobi in spite of everything. Iruka, the Hokage, they all believed that you were, but in reality, you were just a normal girl.

“We’ll figure out how to restore her memories,” the Hokage was saying to Iruka.

You nodded, struggling to keep your face composed and devoid of emotions. You didn’t realize that, until this moment, you truly wanted to belong, more than anything else in the world. And you just had to be given this taste of heaven, before your dreams were snatched away from you forever. Then you heard Iruka speak.

“At the very least, we need to make sure [Name] remembers all her training,” he was telling the Hokage, “if she can’t regain all her memories, it would only be fair if she was able to recall all the jutsus she studied so hard to master.”

What? So they weren’t sending you back to Earth?! Your heart leapt.

The Hokage nodded. “I’m sure I can do at least that much.” He turned to you and raised his palm. “Now, [Name]. Close your eyes. It will be all over soon.”

You obeyed unquestioningly. _Anything to ensure I get to stay in Naruto’s world. Anything!_

“It might be excruciatingly painful,” the Hokage’s voice warned. Your eyes fluttered, but you nodded boldly. _Anything…_

An icy chill ran up your spine as he tapped your shoulder, trickling into your brain, an unpleasantly cold sensation as if someone had dumped a bucket of icy water inside your head. As the feeling dissipated, your mind began to feel strangely crowded with thoughts that didn’t seem to be your own.

_Excellent [Name], that’s a perfect execution of the body replacement jutsu…_

_…ah, very good, you pass…_

_This is how you do the clone jutsu…_

_Hey, [Name]! Do you want to train together later…?_

_…exams are tomorrow, don’t be late!_

What...was that...? You thought dazedly as thoughts floated to the front of your mind, and then settled in the background only to be replaced by new ones.

“It’s your memories returning,” said Iruka helpfully from somewhere in your distorted mind, “Hopefully.”

You hadn’t realized you had spoken aloud. You blinked, and your vision returned. And there was something else. Something important. You would never know for sure unless you tried…

Your hands moved instinctively, forming hand seals in rapid-fire succession.

_Hitsuji, I, Ushi, Inu, Mi!_

There was a poof of smoke. When it cleared, where you stood earlier was a green log of wood. Iruka looked at it, unimpressed, but the Hokage’s eyes twinkled.

You alighted gracefully on the ground next to it, breathless with excitement.

“Well done!” the Hokage congratulated you.

“What?” Iruka grumbled, “She perfected this jutsu in the Academy plenty of times already.”

“But this was my first time!” you said, still grinning.

Iruka rubbed his ear, “That’s not true, I’ve seen you do this technique before.”

“It seems as though [Name] never actually took her training in person,” the Hokage explained to a very irritated looking Iruka. “These memories are not her own.”

“How did I get them?” you asked, eyeing your fingers suspiciously. Were these really your hands? “What did you do?”

“I wasn’t sure until now,” he responded, his voice thoughtful. “I dispersed your shadow clone.”

Huh? “But I don’t know that jutsu!” you blurted out. A moment earlier, you would have said that you didn’t know _any_ jutsu. But now, you weren’t so sure. You did a quick run-through of the recent addition to your memory. You now knew plenty of E-ranked techniques learned at the Academy, but definitely not the shadow clone jutsu. The Academy didn’t teach the shadow clone jutsu.

“This is very interesting indeed,” the Hokage mused.

You sighed in frustration. “But I still don’t understand. How did dispersing the shadow clone give me these memories?” you gestured at the log next to you. “Because I honestly couldn’t channel chakra before this, let alone do ninjutsu.” In the normal world you had tried to perform hand seals once, and failed miserably. But now…you could feel the chakra coursing through your veins. It was as natural as breathing, as familiar as if you had been a ninja all your life.

“Is that so?” he asked, intrigued. He paced away from you, then back again. “Do you know that once you disperse a shadow clone, everything that it learns throughout the course of its existence is transferred to the owner?”

You shook your head, awestruck. If this was true…?

“You understand now,” he continued, “that this is why you received the memories of you shadow clone once it has been dispersed?”

“Hold on,” Iruka interrupted, “So the [Name] I’ve been teaching was a clone all along?” He groaned comically when the Hokage smiled in answer.

“At least I don’t need to go through the program a second time,” you teased.

Iruka looked thoroughly annoyed. “Humph. Good thing your clone learned a couple things while you were away. You’ve come just in time for the final exams.”

 _EXAMS?!_ Oh dear…

Iruka smirked. “I hope you’re prepared, [Name].”

_Go to **[Chapter 8.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2008291)**_


	7. Homecoming

“I’m afraid not,” the Hokage sighed, his voice tinged with regret. You felt a mixture of disappointment and relief. Despite your obsession with Naruto, you couldn’t help feel glad that you could get out of this mess and return to Earth. You wished that you could have met a few characters before you had to go, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Will you be able to send me home?” you asked hopefully.

“Of course!” Iruka snapped. You were mildly surprised at his tone of voice. “Lord Hokage _is_ the Hokage after all.”

You flushed in embarrassment and turned away so no one could see your face.

“Besides,” he continued, “if you don’t belong in this world, then it’s possible to send you back, do you understand what I mean?”

No, you did not, but you kept your mouth shut and just nodded.

The Hokage stepped forward and placed his palms firmly on your shoulders. You fidgeted a little.

“Close your eyes,” he commanded. You complied, but when you heard Iruka gasp, you opened your eyes and saw that your form was glowing faintly.

“Eh…?” you mumbled, as your body shimmered and glowed even brighter. You caught a glimpse of the Hokage and Iruka, who were both shielding their faces from the brilliant light you were emitting. You smiled at them, but you weren’t entirely sure if they saw.

“Thank you for everything Iruka-sensei, Hokage-sama,” you cried, before the light swallowed you up completely. Your vision was nearly completely obscured, but you thought you saw a tear glistening on Iruka’s cheek.

Abruptly, the light dimmed, and you could see that you were back in your house. Your _original_ house. To your delight, the first thing you noticed was that you were facing your familiar TV screen. And on the screen, you saw a scene that you could have sworn never happened when you watched Naruto in the past. A man wearing a green Konoha flak jacket stood beside an old man in Hokage attire, both of them still standing frozen in the same pose as they had been when you left them. A smile crossed your face, and you sat down to watch, knowing that you would never look at Naruto the same way again.

**The End.**


	8. Graduation Exams

It was one of the strangest feelings you had ever experienced in your life, walking into the Academy classroom for the first time.

Scratch that.

Apparently, it wasn't your first time, the lack of reaction from the rest of the students was a testament to that. Everyone there knew who you were…yet they didn't. And you knew who they were…yet you didn't. You had to remind yourself that it had been your shadow clone's memories, but at the same time, they felt so real. You felt as if you were losing your mind trying to get everything straight.

"Hey, [Name]-chan!"

You started when you noticed a familiar boy with a shock of bright blond hair waving enthusiastically at you, an impossibly large grin plastered all over his face. You took a sharp intake of breath as you realized who it was. _Naruto_. One of the characters – er – people, you'd always wanted to meet the most!

"Um, hi…Naruto," you mumbled awkwardly, the unfamiliar name rolling off your tongue. Glancing around the room, you still couldn't get used to the fact that no one thought your sudden appearance was anything out of the ordinary. Apparently Iruka had forgotten to tell them that the [Name] they knew had been a clone. It was a good thing shadow clones retain the original's personality. That was probably why they were treating you as if they had known you all their life, not that you were complaining. This was beyond awesome!

Naruto bounced off the desktop he had been sprawled upon and came over to you, his eyes shining with unbridled excitement.

"It's the graduation exams today, are you prepared?"

Uh-oh. You started hyperventilating, unsure of how to respond to that when another voice cut across your indistinguishable stuttering, effectively saving you from having to lie, embarrass yourself, or both.

"She'll do fine. Besides, it's her best jutsu that we're being tested on, right?"

You and Naruto both looked up to see who had spoken. Inuzuka Kiba stood a few desks away, his arms folded across his chest, grinning slightly.

"Argh! But bunshin no jutsu is _my_ worst jutsu!" Naruto groaned and covered his face with his hands.

Kiba smirked. "Heh, it sucks to be you."

Naruto growled menacingly, but the noise was muffled. He still hadn't removed his hands from his face. It was at that precise moment that Iruka chose to come into the classroom, the wide, signature smile on his face and his eyes twinkling. You quickly took a seat in the nearest desk.

"Alright, we will now start the final exams. If your name is called, come to the classroom next door. You will need to perform the bunshin no jutsu, in order to graduate," he explained, looking up from his papers. "First…Aburame Shino!"

One by one, the number of students slowly declined as they were called to the other room. You sat on the edge of your chair, lacing your fingers tightly together in trepidation. Eventually, even Naruto and Ino were called and you were left alone.

"[Last Name],[First Name]?" Iruka poked his head into the classroom after what seemed like a very long time.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei," you said nervously, standing up. "Why…why was I called last?"

He shrugged as he led you into the adjacent room, which was almost identical to the first. The only difference was the table covered in Konoha forehead protectors and the presence of the other instructor, Mizuki.

"Now, clone jutsu, if you please," Mizuki said smoothly, writing something down on the piece of paper before him. The glare you shot at him went unnoticed, but you thought you saw Iruka eying you apprehensively.

 _Kiba told me this was my best jutsu,_ you thought, trying to calm yourself down. You had never exactly enjoyed taking exams, even if it was something as interesting as ninjutsu. _Oh well, here goes nothing…_

"B-bunshin no jutsu," you mumbled, your hands shaking, but ready to perform the necessary hand seals to induce the jutsu.

_Inu, I, Hitsuji…? Go to **[Chapter 9.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2009731)**_

_Hitsuji, Mi, Tora…? Go to **[Chapter 10.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2009737)**_

_No idea, you'll just wing it and pretend you know what you're doing. Go to **[Chapter 11.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2009745)**_


	9. Mizuki's Intervention

_Inu, I, Hitsuji…_

There was a small poof. When the smoke cleared, you found that you had accidentally mistaken the hand seals for the clone jutsu with the transformation jutsu. You blushed and turned back into your original self, mentally berating yourself for making such a foolish mistake.

“I-I’m so sorry,” you squeaked, wondering if your sensei was going to fail you. Iruka just stared at you oddly for a long time, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“[Name] has demonstrated her ability to perform the clone technique many times before in the past. Perhaps you should allow her to retry,” Mizuki purred, turning to his colleague. Iruka blinked once, then cleared his throat.

“Ah, yes. [Name], if you would kindly try again…”

You watched Mizuki’s strained smile suspiciously and clasped your hands together. Racking your brains for the correct sequence of hand seals, you muttered, “Bunshin no jutsu…” and tried a second time.

_Hitsuji, Mi, Tora…? Go to **[Chapter 10.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2009737)**_

_You really don’t remember. Go to **[Chapter 11.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2009745)**_


	10. An Unexpected Choice

_Hitsuji, Mi, Tora…_

There was a small poof. When the smoke cleared, you found yourself standing next to three clones of you, identical to the original. You sighed in relief, then glanced at the two sensei expectantly, grinning. Iruka looked satisfied, while Mizuki’s expression was faintly disgruntled.

“That was excellent!” Iruka said appreciatively, handing you a shiny new forehead protector. You glowed at the praise and took it from his outstretched hand. Fastening it snugly around your head, you couldn’t help but laugh at Mizuki’s expression. He looked almost angry, but was trying to keep a pleasant smile on his face.

“Thank you Iruka-sensei!” You could barely contain your excitement. You bounded out the room with your new hitai-ate, a wide, Naruto-esque grin spreading across your face.

-:-

“So you passed after all, Naruto!” you cheered when you noticed his forehead protector as he entered the classroom. He gave you his signature grin and loped over to your desk.

“Iruka-sensei let me graduate, believe it!” he shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

“Congrats!” You smiled indulgently at his enthusiasm.

The sound of bickering drowned out Naruto’s reply, and you both turned to see Ino and Sakura, who had entered the room.

“Are you blind?” you heard Ino say crossly. Sakura brushed past her, ignoring Ino’s exclamation. She ran over to Sasuke’s desk on the other side of the room.

“Good morning, Sasuke-kun. Can I sit next to you?”

You shot Naruto a concerned glance as he shifted slightly. As Ino and the rest of the girls in the room began to converge towards the same spot, Naruto stood up and made his way towards them as well.

“Hey, what are you doing?” you hissed. You caught a glimpse of his expression and you knew what he was about to do. Without thinking, you grabbed his arm.

“Naruto,” you whispered urgently. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it. He’s not worth it.”

“But the teme’s asking for it,” he whined, trying to pull free. “Why is everyone so obsessed with Sasuke, what’s so good about him anyways?”

You shrugged. “You don’t want to get on the bad side of that mob, trust me.”

Reluctantly, Naruto sat back down in his seat.

“Starting today, you are all official ninjas.” Iruka had entered the room. “You will all be put in groups of three, where you will accomplish missions under a jounin sensei.”

Iruka began to announce the teams, which went exactly the same as you remembered it, all the way to Team 10.

“That’s it for the teams,” he finished. That was when you realized something was wrong.

“W-what about me, sensei?” you asked, raising a trembling hand. Iruka didn’t look at all bothered by your question. He gave you a reassuring smile.

“You will meet your jounin sensei in the afternoon, everyone is dismissed! And [Name], come here for a moment.”

You walked to Iruka’s desk as the rest of the students filed out of the classroom. When even Naruto had left, not before giving you a concerned glance, Iruka began to speak.

“We didn’t expect the figures to be uneven,” he explained sheepishly. “But now that Naruto has graduated as well, the number of students does not divide equally into threes.”

You stared at him worriedly. “Does that mean I won’t be on a team, sensei?”

“No, of course not!” he laughed, scratching his nose. “There was always the option of grouping you up with another team to make a four-genin squad. It’s not unheard of, of course. Hokage-sama made the ultimate decision.”

You watched him apprehensively. “And?”

“He’s decided to allow you to choose your own team,” he replied happily.

“What?!”

“Yep! I’ve announced all the prearranged teams, as I’m sure you’ve heard. Based off of your marks and skills, you would make an equally valuable addition to any rookie genin team. And also,” he smiled conspiratorially, “you may, if you desire, join any genin team. That is, you may choose to join a non-rookie team if you’d like.”

“Any genin team?” you repeated blankly. Iruka handed you a sheet of paper that he had been clutching. You took it wordlessly. On it was a list of all the genin three-member squads.

“Of course, Hokage-sama had to clear it with the jounin sensei. But you’re a good student, and most were more than willing to take you under their wing,” said Iruka. “Take your pick!”

Your eyes scanned the list, and a small smile flitted across your face. So you get to choose, huh? That was different.

_Team 7; Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke. Go to **Chapter 12.**_

_Team 8; Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino. Go to **Chapter 13.**_

_Team 9; Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten. Go to **Chapter 14.**_

_Team 10; Yamanaka Ino,_ _Nara_ _Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji. Go to **Chapter 15.**_


	11. The Stress of a Test

In all honesty, you had completely forgotten how on earth to do the clone jutsu. After all, the first and only technique you’ve ever performed after arriving in the Naruto world was kawarimi no jutsu. You just couldn’t remember the hand seals for any other jutsu, no matter how hard you tried. You never did like exams, and you knew the pressure and stress was getting to you.

Hopefully, the sensei wouldn’t mind you using a different jutsu. After all, this graduation exam was mainly testing your ninjutsu capabilities, right?

With this reasoning in mind, your hands flashed through a familiar sequence of five hand seals. You could tell that Iruka recognized the order halfway through. He groaned and covered his face with his hand. To his left, Mizuki looked strangely triumphant.

You vanished in a puff of smoke, and in your place stood a wobbly log.

“Bravo!” Mizuki called, his voice thick with sarcastic implications. Iruka did not seem to notice, because he frowned at the other instructor.

“[Name] was supposed to perform bunshin no jutsu,” he said sternly. “As she failed to do so, I’m afraid –”

“Surely you don’t want to fail _both_ your favourite students?” Mizuki interrupted.

“I have no choice,” Iruka sighed, grimacing at you. “I had thought your skills were proficient, [Name]. Perhaps…even exemplary. It saddens me that I have to admit that I may be mistaken.”

“She has demonstrated an excellent body replacement jutsu,” the silver-haired chuunin countered, his eyes glinting maliciously. “Perhaps, we can make an exception…”

Iruka turned to you. “Try again, [Name]. I’d hate to fail you, especially knowing full well of your potential.”

You gazed at him solemnly, then you shook your head. “I…can’t sensei.”

You hung your head in shame, not wanting to admit that you had forgotten the hand seals for the clone jutsu. The worst part was, you knew that you would remember once you left the classroom and took a breath of fresh air. However, then you would have already failed. Just your luck.

“I’m sorry, [Name],” Iruka’s voice was soft and regretful. He didn’t want you to fail just as much as you did. “Then…we can’t pass you.”

“I understand.” Your voice was mechanical, even to yourself. You quickly left the room.

-:-

“Hey! How did it go?” Sakura greeted you as you passed her in the hallway. You started in surprise.

“Oh, uh…”

You saw her eyes quickly scanning your forehead, then your empty hands. Her expression changed into one of horror and disbelief.

“Oh, [Name]! Don’t tell me you –”

“Yeah, I failed,” you mumbled miserably. Brushing aside Sakura’s words of consolation, you hurried out of the Academy building. What were you going to do now? That was when you spotted Naruto in the distance.

“Oy! Naruto!” you called, waving. He half-glanced at you, then looked back at the ground.

“You…okay?” you asked, feeling foolish. As soon as you reached the swing, you knew that he wasn’t all right. His ever-present grin was absent and his eyes were rimmed with red.

“Yeah…” he muttered, trying to sound upbeat but failing miserably.

“Mizuki-sensei told me that, um…you failed too?” you sat down on the grass beside his swing, gazing at his dejected form.

“Yeah…” he said again, but his eyes suddenly snapped up. His expression was remarkably like Sakura’s had been earlier. You stifled a giggle at the extraordinary resemblance. “ _What_ did you just –”

You pointed cheerily at your forehead. “Yep, I didn’t pass either.”

He just gaped at you, shocked. “But how? That was your best jutsu!”

You shrugged and blushed. “I blanked out. _Now_ I remember, but it’s too late anyways.”

Naruto looked considerably happier at your words, but there was a trace of guilt in his blue eyes. “I shouldn’t be glad that you failed too,” he mumbled, flushing.

“Hey, it’s always better to have company, right? Besides, we can retake the exams together again next time!” you exclaimed, beaming at him.

-:-

You knew Mizuki was going to come and offer Naruto an opportunity to pass by tricking him into stealing the Scroll of Sealing. What you didn’t expect was that the man would offer you the same.

“It isn’t very fair to fail you two,” Mizuki admitted, his voice convincingly sympathetic. “Especially you, Naruto.”

He went on to describe how Iruka had also lost his parents at a young age. He then explained about the scroll, and how both you and Naruto’s abilities would be recognized once you learned a couple of powerful techniques from it. All you needed to do was show Iruka your capabilities, and both of you would pass.

“So, will you do it?” Mizuki asked eagerly, his face animated.

“You bet!” Naruto cried. Then he glanced at you. “How about you, [Name]-chan?”

 

_Yes! For a chance to graduate, anything! Go to **Chapter 16.**_

_No way! Mizuki just wants to use you to get the scroll for himself. Go to **Chapter 17.**_

_You’ll pretend to agree, but warn Naruto about the traitor’s plans. **Go to Chapter 18.**_


	12. Team 7

“I’d like to be put on Team 7, please,” you informed him politely, giving him back the list of teams. Iruka looked unsurprised as he took it from your hands.

“I knew you’d want to be with your friends,” he said, chuckling slightly. “I would have put you on that team myself, even if you weren’t given the choice. Naruto and Sakura will be thrilled.”

You grunted unintelligibly.

“I would tell you to go meet your team right now,” Iruka continued. “But unfortunately, your sensei is, ah…chronically tardy. You might as well wait for me to finish my lunch and I’ll bring you to Kaka – that is to say, your sensei – to personally explain the situation.”

“Sounds great!” you agreed amiably, excited by the prospect of being on Team 7 with Naruto. Kakashi-sensei and his chronic tardiness, huh? You stifled a small laugh and followed Iruka out the classroom.

-:-

Iruka found the members of Kakashi’s team on the rooftops just as they were wrapping up their discussion. Naruto was the first to notice your arrival, and he waved energetically as you and Iruka approached.

“Kakashi, this is [Last Name] [First Name], the new addition to your genin squad,” Iruka announced proudly, puffing out his chest. Kakashi raised his single visible eyebrow in apparent interest. You almost choked with laughter at their strange dynamics.

“So she chose us after all,” Kakashi mused, eying your expression almost reproachfully. But it was difficult to tell with his mask concealing the majority of the expressive part of his face. “Ah, it seems I win the bet.”

“What bet, sensei?” Naruto asked, perking up.

He seemed to quail under Naruto’s intense gaze. “Just…a silly game, nothing more.”

“With Iruka-sensei?” he pressed, his blue eyes wide.

Iruka laughed. “Oh no, it’s the bet with his rival, Gai. Right. So [Name], get yourself acquainted with your new team. I’ll be off now, so best of luck!”

You nodded at him, then turned to find Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all gazing at you curiously.

“Hi…” you mumbled, turning slightly pink. The intensity of their gazes was disconcerting.

“[Name], as I was just telling the rest of your team, we’re meeting on the training fields at 5 AM sharp tomorrow morning. Don’t eat breakfast, or else you’ll throw up. And don’t be late,” Kakashi added, snickering at what he believed was an inside joke.

“Got it!” you nodded, a faint smile crossing your lips.

“Good,” he replied, then he vanished in a puff of smoke. As soon as he was gone, Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

“Whew, I’m glad it’s you on my team as a fellow kunoichi, [Name]. If it had been Ino…” she shuddered and glowered at an unseen image. You knew full well what she meant, and you laughed softly.

“So am I, believe it!” Naruto declared, standing up and flashing a crooked grin in your direction. You returned the smile weakly.

“Is there anything wrong?” he asked, his brow furrowing in concern.

“Oh, no,” you replied quickly, not wanting him to jump to conclusions. You were supposed to be a strong shinobi after all. You mustn’t let Kakashi’s words get to you. Heck, you already knew what his ‘training’ entailed. But there was a small part of you filled with more dread than your liking. You shook it off, determined to perform well.

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day’s events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn’t like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn’t supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

“Genjutsu…” you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

“Rin…” he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

_Go to **Chapter 21.**_


	13. Team 8

“Hmm, I think I’d like to be placed in Team 8,” you said, glancing at Kiba and Hinata’s name with a smile. As much as you wanted to be on the loveable hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja’s team, you were curious as to see how Kurenai-sensei trained her students. Besides, Hinata and Kiba were kind to you as well, and were your – or your shadow clone’s – friends. You were thrilled to have a chance to choose to be on their team.

“Great!” Iruka nodded, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Then he took the list back from you. “I’ll take you to meet your team after lunch, so until then, you’re free to go.”

-:-

You re-entered the classroom and waved cautiously at Iruka, who seemed absorbed in his work. He jolted, then glanced at the clock. “Ah, so it’s time.”

He stood up and arranged his papers in a neat pile before leading you out the door and down a hallway. He stopped outside of a classroom and peered inside.

“We’re here,” he said, before pushing the door completely open and gesturing for you to go in first. You complied, and Iruka followed. You noticed a woman with wavy, black shoulder-length hair who was in the middle of speaking to Hinata. She stopped mid-sentence as you entered the room and gazed at you curiously. Then she directed her words at Iruka.

“Hello Iruka. What brings you here?” Kurenai inquired politely, her crimson eyes twinkling.

He pointed at you. “[Name] is also on your team from now on.”

Her eyes swept over your form and she dipped her head once. “I see. Thank you.”

Iruka nodded as well, and took his leave. You turned to Kurenai, feeling slightly apprehensive.

“Yo [Name]! You’re on our team now too?” Kiba called. You nodded and he grinned at you toothily. “All right!”

“So, [Name]. I see you’ll be joining us from now on,” Kurenai said thoughtfully. “Four-member squads are rare, but doable. When you arrived, we were in the middle of introducing ourselves. Mind if you give us a short biography, or just some random facts about yourself?”

“I-I…well…” you mumbled, your eyes glazing over.

Kurenai caught on rather quickly. “Oh, of course if you don’t feel comfortable, there’s no need…”

Shino’s face was inclined towards you, but his tinted glasses and the high collar of his jacket made it difficult to read his expression. You couldn’t tell for sure, but he seemed suspicious, or at least curious. From what you could gather from your shadow clone’s memories, you didn’t know Shino very well compared to the other two. This observation was further reinforced by the fact that both Kiba and Hinata did not look the slightest bit worried at your hesitation and Kurenai’s cover-up.

“Ah, so we will begin our mission – the training exercise – tomorrow morning at 6 AM. Meet me at the second training ground,” Kurenai instructed, snapping you out of your reverie.

“Hai!” Kiba said, and his response was echoed by you and your other two teammates. Kurenai gave the four of you a wry smile before standing up and disappearing through the still-open door.

“Y-you’re on our team now, [Name]-chan?” Hinata asked, giving you a tentative smile. “I’m glad.”

You returned her smile warmly. “So am I, Hinata.” You were among friends, and you couldn’t be any happier.

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day’s events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn’t like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn’t supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

“Genjutsu…” you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

“Rin…” he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

-:-

When you were roused by the sound of you alarm clock, you stretched and got up to make yourself a quick breakfast. You were half-asleep, and still feeling troubled by your nightmare last night. Somehow, it disturbed you greatly, but you couldn’t put words to it. You tried to push it to the back of your mind and focussed on the prospect of today’s training session with your new team.

You splashed cold water on your face, forcing the last of the sleepiness from your body. You had to be fully alert for whatever training Kurenai-sensei had planned for your team. With that thought in mind, you left your house-apartment home and headed towards the second training ground.

“G-good morning, [Name]-chan,” Hinata greeted you nervously as you arrived. She seemed to be the only one who was there.

“Morning, Hinata,” you responded. She gave you a shy smile.

“H-how do you think Kurenai-sensei is going to train us?” she asked hesitantly.

 You shrugged. “She’ll probably focus on, say, teamwork or jutsu proficiency. But how exactly she is going to do that is beyond me.” Probably not the bell test, you decided inwardly, happy that you were going to experience something new.

Shino appeared shortly afterwards. He spoke very little, only giving Hinata and you a polite greeting before retreating into the shadows. Finally, when both Kiba and Kurenai arrived, the latter began to explain the details of the ‘mission’.

“This is a form of survival training,” she began, her eyes glazed and distant. “If you pass, you’ll continue as genin. If you fail, however, you will be dropped from the program.”

Three gasps and an ominous silence followed her statement.

Finally, Kiba spoke. “Dropped from the program? What the heck?”

“That’s right,” Kurenai voice was grave. “Are you ready, my team?”

“Um, yeah…” you said apprehensively, eyeing the rest of your teammates.

“Ano…” Hinata mumbled, staring wide-eyed at the sensei as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.

“Yes,” Shino said tersely.

“Ah, whatever,” Kiba muttered, his eyes narrowing. “Akamaru and I are ready for anything!”

Kurenai indicated to the four trees located directly behind her. Your eyes followed where her finger was pointing and you found that each tree had a shuriken tied to the very top.

“See those? Your task is to retrieve these shuriken. But of course, there is always a catch for simple missions like these.” She withdrew a length of long, silvery cord from her pouch and held them out. “Your hands will be tied to each other’s hands so you cannot use them to climb. And you must work together.”

“So what are you saying? Is that all?” Kiba asked slowly, comprehension dawning on his face.

“This task is a multifaceted training exercise that tests teamwork, chakra control, the ability to complete mission, and the ability to do so on time. For one, all of you must obtain your respective shuriken from each tree. As you will be tied to each other, physically and otherwise, you will have no choice but to rely on each other to succeed. Next, as your hands will be bound to another person’s by rope, it is highly unlikely that it will be possible to use them to climb. As a result, you will have to exercise chakra control and in the limited time you have, learn how to collect it in your feet to even hope to begin scaling the tree. Finally, you must finish quickly and efficiently, and be able repel all attacks I may throw at you as a deterrent, while staying within the time limit. Got it?”

Her descriptive clarification of the mission was met with a long, drawn-out silence. The only sound was the low hum of Shino’s bugs and the occasional chirping of birds in the distance.

“I take it that you’re ready?” Kurenai asked with a smile. “It’s a daunting prospect, I’ll admit, but I have faith in you. Good luck!” She strode forwards and divided the rope into four equal segments with her teeth.

“[Name], extend your left hand, and Hinata, extend your right.”

You and Hinata did what you were told at once and Kurenai tied a loop around your wrist, then allowed a metre of unknotted rope between before tying a knot around Hinata’s arm.

“Kiba?”

He stepped towards you wordlessly and Kurenai did the same with you right hand and Kiba’s left. Then she tied Shino’s arm to Hinata’s.

 “Alright,” Kurenai said appreciatively, stepping back to admire her handiwork. “That looks good. Now, begin whenever you’re ready.”

You peered at your teammates, trying to examine the situation as critically as you could. From left to right stood Shino, Hinata, you, then Kiba, each separated yet tied by a metre of rope. Kurenai smiled and with a quick one-handed seal, vanished into thin air.

“Great. What’s our strategy, guys?” Kiba asked, gazing at the ropes binding his arms with repulsion.

“First, we need to channel our chakra into your feet,” you suggested. “Though how we’re going to manage that is beyond me. We need to perform hand seals to manipulate energies and we can’t do that without our hands.”

“That’s not strictly true,” Shino said in a soft voice. Everyone turned to stare him. He looked a little uncomfortable at the attention, but ploughed on quickly. “The metre of rope between each of us is there for a reason. Not only is it the perfect amount of space between each tree, we are also able to combine forces to perform the necessary hand seals.”

The confusion must have shown in each of your faces because Shino hurriedly began to demonstrate. He used his right hand to perform half of the ram hand seal and beckoned to Hinata to do the same. She slowly curled her fingers into the other counterpart of the sign and clasped her hand to his. Together, they formed an awkward but usable _hitsuji_ seal.

“Now focus your chakra, Hinata,” Shino instructed, sound half-embarrassed by the attention.

“Heh, great thinking, Shino!” Kiba congratulated, turning to you. “[Name], let’s do this.”

“Right,” you said, holding out your right hand, copying Shino’s demonstration. Kiba pressed his left hand to yours, completing the hand seal. You both closed your eyes, concentrating. You moulded a steady stream of physical and spiritual energy, guiding it telepathically to your feet. When you opened your eyes, the other three had already finished.

“W-we should all climb at the same time,” Hinata stammered, blushing slightly.

“True,” Kiba said, nodding. “We don’t want anyone falling behind and risk dragging the rest of the team down. So on the count of three. One…two…three!”

You, along with the rest of your team began to walk vertically up each of your respective trees while gradually focusing your chakra towards your feet.

“Where’s the challenge in this?” Kiba muttered to himself. You shot him a warning look.

“Kurenai-sensei might be lurking around here somewhere,” you advised him quietly. “If she hears, she might–”

“Oh I know, but she’ll do something anyways, so I might as well be cocky about it, eh?” he reasoned. You rolled your eyes and continued to climb.

An hour later, you began to feel a nagging suspicion that something wasn’t quite right. The trees weren’t that tall after all, they were just regular trees. With that thought in mind, you peered curiously over your shoulder at the ground below, wondering about your progress. Your eyes widened in surprise. Shoot…

Shino seemed to have noticed the same thing, because both of you stopped, causing Hinata to nearly lose her chakra focus and balance. You leaned precariously towards the tree to the left and gripped her arm to support her.

“Thanks…!” she mouthed, her eyes shining with gratitude.

“What was that for?” Kiba complained, frowning at you. In response, Shino pointed wordlessly at the ground.

“What the...?!” Kiba’s eyes narrowed suspiciously and he swore under his breath. “We haven’t moved at all! Dang…”

“Genjutsu…” Hinata breathed, causing you to flinch. Your dream…

You quickly shook it off. _Being frightened of genjutsu now, are we?_ you chided, berating yourself for your overly imaginative brain.

“All right…so let’s dissipate it,” Kiba sighed, moving his fingers to make half the tiger seal. Shino, Hinata, and you immediately followed his lead without questioning.

“Release!” the four of you commanded in unison. You felt the flow of chakra in your body cease infinitesimally, and then a burst of energy filled your limbs. But that pause in the flow of chakra was enough to do damage to your concentration. You lost your footing and fell off the tree. Luckily, because of the genjutsu, the distance between you and the ground wasn’t too great. The rest of your team also tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.

“Damn…now what?” Kiba asked, rubbing the lump on his head. “Maybe next time, we go for extreme pain to get rid of the genjutsu instead,” he suggested, brandishing a kunai.

“Let’s try again,” you said, your voice persistent. The rest of your team members agreed unanimously and hurried to start concentrating on their chakra again.

Soon, Team 8 was back on the trees, glancing at the ground every now and then in apprehension. The tip of the trees seemed to grow ever closer, much to everyone’s relief. As you neared the last few metres, Hinata suddenly let out a gasp.

You swivelled your head in alarm and noticed a man with a forehead protector that identified his affiliation with Kumogakure _floating_ in midair beside Hinata. His hitai-ate covered one eye like a makeshift eyepatch in a similar fashion to Kakashi and he had a kunai poised directly over her heart.

“Hinata!” Kiba yelled, but he was farthest away from her and could not do anything but watch in horror.

Your eyes widened in fear as the man raised the knife and prepared to deliver the fatal blow.

You had to do _something._ But what?

_If you pull out your own kunai to intercept it, go to **Chapter 25.**_

_If you think it’s a genjutsu, go to **Chapter 24.**_

_If you knock Hinata safely out of the way, go to **Chapter 34.**_


	14. Team 9

“Team 9,” you replied, grinning at your sensei.

Iruka raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. I’m sure you would make an excellent addition to their team.”

You weren’t sure if he was being sarcastic or not. After all, you were a new genin, and Lee, Tenten, and Neji all had at least a year of training more than you did. What good could you bring to their team that they did not already have? Nevertheless you wanted to be on Team 9, so it didn’t matter what they thought.

“Um…thank you?” you mumbled, half-glancing at Iruka’s amused expression. He straightened, then gestured to the door. “Come then, I’ll take you to meet your sensei and new team.”

You followed as he headed towards the training grounds.

“They’ll be here somewhere…” you kept hearing him mutter to himself. “I _told_ Gai that you might join his team…he might’ve forgotten…”

It took another hour of searching, but when Iruka finally located them, he was in a foul mood.

“Gai!” he shouted, brandishing the papers in his hand at the green-clad man sparring with his three students. You noticed Lee first, who stopped in the middle of an airborne flip and fell to the ground in a tangled green heap. 

“Iruka!” Gai boomed, without missing a beat. He pocketed his kunai and spun around to face the two of you. Neji, Lee, and Tenten staggered to the forest floor, panting and wiping the sweat off their brows.

“This is [Last Name] [First Name]. As you can see –” Iruka began, but Gai cut him off mid-sentence, his face lighting up with anticipation.

“Yes, I see…well if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find Kakashi. Meanwhile, Lee, Neji, and Tenten – you can entertain [Name] while I’m gone.”

“Yosh, Gai-sensei!” Lee proclaimed, straightening up and offering you a smart salute. You gave him a warm smile in response. With that, Gai vanished, leaving a very baffled-looking Iruka in his wake. Then Iruka excused himself and headed off as well, leaving you alone in the company of Team 9 minus the sensei.

“It had to take a whole year, but it’s great to have another kunoichi on this team at last,” Tenten sighed, tilting her head. Her eyes held an animated, almost manic gleam. “Hey, [Name]. Are you any good with weapons?”

“Not particularly,” you admitted. Neji eyed you critically, but didn’t offer a comment. You wondered if he disapproved of your presence. He didn’t like to acknowledge the prowess of kunoichi in comparison to shinobi after all, and having another female on his team may bring him inconvenience.

“Now, [Name]-san…let us train!” Lee called joyfully, doing a backflip and landing neatly on a nearby tree branch.

“Just as I expected,” Tenten muttered under her breath. “You really can call this entertainment, Lee?”

He jumped back down and landed beside her, grinning. “Yes! It is the best form of entertainment there is! I will make Gai-sensei proud!”

“Why did Gai…sensei leave so abruptly?” you asked, somewhat miffed at his sudden departure.

“Oh! That is because of his bet with his eternal rival, Kakashi-san!”

“Bet?” you echoed, glancing curiously at Lee.

“Gai-sensei is kind of eccentric that way,” Tenten explained. “He and Kakashi have a long-standing tendency to bet over childish things.”

Lee shook his head seriously. “Gai-sensei has an outstanding record of 50 wins and 49 losses. This one will bring his win count up by one! So thank you for your help, [Name]-san!”

You probably looked confused, as Neji spoke up for the first time since you arrived. “Gai bet that you would opt to join our team, and Kakashi vice versa.”

“Oh, I see,” you replied, unnerved. You weren’t sure what to feel about being the subject of your new sensei’s childish – according to Tenten – bet. Neji nodded wordlessly and turned away again.

Lee and Tenten chattered away, while you spared an occasional comment. Neji stayed as stoic and silent as ever, but a trace of amusement flickered across his blank eyes every once on a while. When Gai returned, he looked visibly disappointed that Tenten had talked Lee out of training with you.

“She has youthful potential, though!” Gai exclaimed, while Tenten rolled her eyes in exasperation.

But eventually, your sensei became slightly more serious. “Okay, [Name]. We’ll need to test and hone your abilities somehow. How about we meet here again at 3 AM?”

You gulped.

“That’s a bit too early,” Tenten chided, coming to your rescue. You gave her a grateful look.

“A bit…” Neji muttered sarcastically.

“All right then,” Gai sighed in disappointment. “I was hoping to get plenty of training done tomorrow…but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to allow you a couple more hours of sleep than I originally intended.”

Relieved, you agreed. You waved goodbye to your teammates and sensei and set off in the direction of your house. You couldn’t wait until training tomorrow, and hoped that Gai and Lee’s enthusiasm wasn’t rubbing off on you too much.

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day’s events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn’t like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn’t supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

“Genjutsu…” you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

“Rin…” he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

-:-

You woke up at three in the morning, unable to bring yourself to go back to sleep. You couldn’t stomach any food either, so you roamed listlessly around the house with no inherent purpose. You almost wished Tenten hadn’t stopped Gai from making the training meeting at 3 AM, so that you could have an excuse to leave your house. You peered out your window, disappointed at the still-dark horizon. Finally, you couldn’t stand brooding over your thoughts any longer, so you grabbed your coat and headed outside.

You began to crave company as you strolled down the dimly lit roads, lost in thought. It seemed as though the sky would never lighten, and you wished you brought a watch, or a clock along. Weary of your aimless walking, you decided to set off for the training ground early.

You didn’t expect anyone to be up at this hour, so when you saw that Lee was already there, you started in surprise.

“Hey Lee!” you called, waving.

He twisted around and grinning at you happily. “[Name]-san! It is nice to see you, what brings you here so early?”

“I could ask you the same,” you replied teasingly, approaching. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Lee nodded wisely. “I see. That is most convenient. Now we can get a start on training before any of the others arrive. What do you think?” His eyes sparkled with such unbridled enthusiasm that you couldn’t help but grin.

_If you agree to train with Lee, go to **Chapter 26.**_

_If you politely decline his offer, go to **Chapter 27.**_


	15. Team 10

You pointed at the Ino-Shika-Cho trio’s names on the list, a slight frown creasing your brow. Having already made up your mind the moment Iruka revealed that you could pick a team, there had been one thing that was bugging you. “If I joined their team, sensei…would I mess up their formation?”

Iruka laughed heartily and shook his head. “Of course not! Asuma would be thrilled to have you on his team, and so would your friends.”

You grinned at him. “I see, that’s good then. I’d like to be placed on Team 10.”

Iruka stood up. “I’m pretty sure I have a good idea where he might’ve taken his team. Let’s go find them before they adjourn their team meeting, shall we?”

-:-

“Ah, hello there Asuma,” Iruka called, raising his hand in greeting. He had spotted the jounin sensei just as he was entering the Yakiniku Q. Asuma stepped over the threshold and nodded at him. Iruka went into the restaurant, and you trailed behind, unsure of what to do.

Inside, Asuma and Iruka had found a table, and were quietly conversing. _That was fast,_ you thought. When Asuma noticed you lingering awkwardly by the door, his warm smile widened.

“Why hello, you must be [Name].” It wasn’t a question, so you nodded without saying anything. He gestured to empty bench space beside him.

“You must be hungry. I’ll order something for you to eat.”

You eyes widened, and you cursed inwardly, realizing for the first time since arriving at the Naruto world that you had no ryo on you. And you were pretty hungry, as you hadn’t had much to eat all day.

As if he could read your thoughts, Asuma laughed and patted the seat encouragingly. “No worries, it’ll be on me and Iruka.”

“Hey!” Iruka protested jokingly.

You were still hesitant, not wanting to take advantage of the sensei’s generosity.

“[Name], don’t worry about it. Once you start missions with your genin team, you’ll earn some money. You can pay us back then if you want,” Iruka reasoned, his voice light and good-humoured.

You nodded in agreement, glad for his reassurance, even if he was just teasing you. You slid into the seat and Asuma passed you a menu.

Soon, the waitress came with your food, and you dove into it with as much enthusiasm as Naruto with his Ichiraku ramen.

“I’ll introduce you to your team as a teammate this afternoon,” Asuma stated after a long silence. “I take it that you’re already familiar with them?”

“Sort of,” you replied, which was the truest response you could give him in a sense. Though your shadow clone had apparently been friends with the members of Team 10, you still hadn’t met them in person as you. But you figured Asuma wouldn’t understand what on earth you meant if you told him something like that. It was safest and most honest to be ambiguous sometimes.

Asuma let his chopsticks clatter to the table and wiped his face with a napkin. “All right, finish your food soon, and I’ll round them up. Meet me at the dango shop in an hour.”

-:-

When you arrived, the rest of the team was already there. Ino sat on a bench, looking impatient, while Chouji, as usual, was munching away on a bag of chips. Shikamaru appeared to be asleep, but you couldn’t tell for sure. When she noticed you, Ino gave you a happy little wave, and you returned it with equal warmth. She then turned to Shikamaru and prodded him with her dango stick.

“Oy, Shikamaru, wake _up_ you lazy bum!” she ordered. “[Name]’s here.”

He blinked sleepily. “Eh…?” Then he sighed and dragged himself upright. It looked as if the effort was killing him, but Ino was relentless.

“Where are your manners?” she snapped, poking him in the side again.

“I have none…” Shikamaru replied wearily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Ino glowered at him and opened her mouth to speak.

Asuma gave a hearty chuckle. “Now zip it, you two. I wanted to discuss the mission we’ll be having tomorrow.”

 _Survival training…_ you thought to yourself in anticipation.

“Survival training,” he agreed, as if you had spoken aloud. “Thus, whether you pass or fail determines your becoming a genin or not.”

“I thought we were genin already,” Ino complained, looking dumbstruck.

Asuma smiled grimly. “That’s partially true.  
But I’m afraid at least 66% of all the graduates are going to drop out by the time we sensei are finished with you.”

Ino bristled. “We are _not_ going to drop out, right Shikamaru, Chouji, [Name]?”

“No,” you agreed earnestly.

“Ah, guess not…” Shikamaru said after a long pause. Chouji stayed silent, but nodded in agreement.

“That’s the spirit,” Asuma continued. “I’m sure you’ll all do fine. So good luck all and I’ll see you tomorrow. Same place, same time, got it?”

All four of you nodded resignedly and stood up from your respective seats. Asuma gave everyone one last encouraging smile before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

“Well then, bye…team,” Shikamaru said, before heading off himself. Ino stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

“Good riddance,” she huffed. “That lazy good-for-nothing –”

“I need to go too, Ino,” you interrupted quickly before she could finish her tirade. “Good-bye!”

Ino glanced at you in surprise. “Um, okay.”

You began to walk down the now-familiar road to your house, smiling to yourself. You couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day’s events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn’t like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn’t supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

“Genjutsu…” you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

“Rin…” he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

-:-

The next afternoon, you met Team 10 by the dango shop for the second time. Again, Ino was tapping the floor impatiently with her foot while Shikamaru was asleep and Chouji was inhaling his chips. The feeling of déjà vu made you laugh unexpectedly.

“Good, you’re here,” Asuma proclaimed, chewing on his cigarette. “Now I’ll explain today’s mission. As I’ve mentioned before, if you fail, you will be dropped from the program. Potentially, one, two, or all of you may fail, but the same goes for passing.” He then pulled out what appeared to be a map from his pocket and tore it in two. Then he handed one piece to you and the other to Ino. You took it and glanced warily at the strange markings, wondering what on earth it would be for.

“Ino, [Name]. Each of you has a map of half the training grounds. Your objective is to find the trench knives I have hidden in each section. In other words, you only have the resources to find one knife, but you must collect both to pass. I encourage you to engage in conflict with the other to do so. Lastly, you must either choose Shikamaru or Chouji to work as a team with. Who’d like to pick first?”

You looked at Ino, who shrugged. “Personally, I really don’t care if I get the slacker or the fatty. You pick.”

Chouji squinted at Ino, his eyes blazing and Shikamaru yawned and stretched, blissfully oblivious to Ino’s barely veiled insult. You figured it was because he was used to it, or he just didn’t care.

“All right…” you said hesitantly. Who would you prefer to team up with?

_If you choose Shikamaru, go to **Chapter 28.**_

_If you’d rather go with Chouji, go to **Chapter 29.**_


	16. Second Chance and a Nightmare

“I’m in,” you replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Great!” Naruto cheered, patting you on the back. “So we’ll just sneak into the old man’s office, grab the scroll, and go to the place Mizuki-sensei told us about, and train our butts off. It’ll be a piece of cake, believe it!”

It turned out, it was as much of a piece of cake as Naruto had promised. It didn’t take much to subdue the Hokage. Initially, he had just been about to enter the office when Naruto snuck in through the open window. Naruto immediately distracted him with his Sexy Jutsu, buying you just enough time to steal the scroll and slip back outside with your prize. You met Naruto outside of the Academy building, swelling with pride at your success.

“How did it go?” He asked you eagerly. In answer, you held out the giant scroll. He took it in his hands reverently, and tied it to his back with a length of spare cord. “This holds our only chance to become ninjas,” he said seriously. You gave him a small smile, too giddy with excitement to articulate a proper response.

Soon, you had reached the familiar clearing that Mizuki instructed the two of you to meet him. Naruto opened the scroll with trembling fingers. You leaned in, and both of you began to read. It was quite simple to understand, and you breathed a sigh of relief that there weren’t many hand seals that you needed to memorize. It was just the one clone seal, something you’ve seen Naruto do plenty of times on television. And thank goodness, it was probably one of the easiest seals there was.

The theory wasn’t so bad either. The scroll did warn that the multiple shadow clone technique would use a massive amount of chakra. It wouldn’t be a problem for Naruto, but you probably wouldn’t have enough to pull it off.

You and Naruto trained well into the night, practising summoning shadow clones until your legs and arms felt like molten lead. Naruto seemed tired as well, but due to his substantial chakra reserves, he was probably in much better shape.

It was then that Iruka-sensei chose to show up, looking out of breath and terribly annoyed.

“Hey, Naruto, [Name],” he said as he approached, panting.

“Aw man, we got caught!” Naruto said, groaning. He struggled to his feet and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “And we only had time to learn one technique.”

Iruka’s face took on a conflicting look.

“Hey! [Name]-chan and I are going to show you this great technique, and you’ll let us graduate if we can do it, right?”

Iruka’s eyes widened. “Who said that to you?”

“Mizuki-sensei,” you replied promptly.

“He told us about this place, and the scroll!” Naruto affirmed, jumping up and down. Iruka’s pupils contracted as he sensed an unwelcome presence in close proximity. Then he abruptly pushed Naruto and you into the ground.

“Ow!” Naruto complained, rubbing his head. A dozen kunai suddenly whizzed by, narrowly missing your shoulder. Iruka took the full brunt of the attack, as the knives embedded into his chest and pinned him against the nearby shed.

“I’m surprised you found out about this place.”

Iruka, breathing hard, looked up to see Mizuki. His eyes hardened. “I see, so that’s how it is.”

“Naruto, hand over the scroll,” Mizuki commanded. He had alighted on the branch above your heads. You noticed the two monstrous shuriken strapped to his back and you gulped audibly.

“Hey…what’s going on here?” Naruto squeaked, glancing from the injured Iruka to the smirking Mizuki with a mix of horror and disbelief on his face.

“Naruto, don’t let him get the scroll no matter what!” Iruka commanded, wrenching a blood-spattered kunai out of his thigh. “It’s filled with dangerous kinjutsu – and Mizuki just used you so he could get it.”

“Naruto,!” you cried urgently, trying to reinforce Iruka’s message with your own plea. “You have to get out of here. Mizuki will be after you and the scroll.”

He snapped out of his daze and clenched his fists, ready to run.

“They’re just afraid of you possessing that,” Mizuki said dismissively. Naruto eyed him fearfully, rooted to the spot again.

“Don’t believe him, Naruto,” Iruka pleaded, still struggling to remove the kunai from his body.

Mizuki began to laugh maniacally. “I’ll tell you the truth.”

“Don’t!!” Iruka cried frantically, clenching his teeth in obvious pain.

“A rule was created after the incident that occurred twelve years ago. It’s a rule that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about.”

“Stop, Mizuki!!” Iruka yelled, finally freeing himself. But it was too late.

“It’s the rule not to say that Naruto is a monster fox. In other words, you are the nine-tailed demon fox who killed Iruka’s parents and destroyed our village.”

Naruto stared, wide-eyed at Mizuki, still frozen.

“No one is ever going to recognize you! Even Iruka hates you!”

He took the opportunity of Naruto’s distraction to unfasten one of the shuriken off his back. “Die, Naruto!” Mizuki flipped the shuriken, taking advantage of the momentum, and flung it directly at Naruto.

“Naruto, duck!” Iruka shouted, jumping forwards and intercepting the attack with his own body. You watched in horror, unable to move or to help in any way. It felt as if you were watching it on the TV screen once more. You tried to snap yourself out of this trance, but you also knew that it wasn’t your place to interfere. Everything would work out well in the end. All you could do was wait patiently.

So you watched in a stunned silence as Iruka professed his fondness for Naruto. You watched as the tears streamed down his face, and Mizuki’s cruel laughter and biting remark that caused Naruto’s judgement to sway. You watched as he fled into the woods, Iruka calling after him desperately.

“I’ll take care of you later,” Mizuki smirked, before taking off into the woods. You prepared to follow, but Iruka held out his arm to stop you.

“No, [Name]. It’s too dangerous. I’ll go,” Iruka ordered, coughing. “You stay here until I get back. You didn’t respond, and he bounded off in pursuit of the traitor. After waiting for him to vanish into the forest, you followed stealthily. You didn’t want to be left out of the action.

-:-

You stopped abruptly when you heard voices, and cautiously peered around a tree. You spotted Naruto, who was sobbing his heart out behind a nearby tree and guessed that Iruka had just made that infamous life-changing speech. The memory brought tears to your eyes and a small smile to your lips.

“Iruka, I said I would kill you later, but I take that back,” Mizuki was saying. “Die now!”

You leapt out of your hiding spot and prepared to do something, anything to help, forgetting about your earlier resolve. But Naruto was faster. He collided into Mizuki, sending him flying into the air, completely taken by surprise. You skidded to a halt beside Naruto, who grinned at you.

“Nice timing!” he said, flashing you the thumbs up as Mizuki struggled to his feet, looking winded. Naruto turned to him, and his expression was positively deadly in comparison to the cocky grin on his face an instant before.

“If you lay a finger on Iruka-sensei…I’ll kill you!”

Mizuki took a shuddering breath and the arrogant smirk returned to his face. “I’ll be able to take a kid like you anytime.” He turned to you, amused. “And what are you going to do, huh, you weakling? Don’t think I’ve forgotten you. You’re also a failure!”

“Don’t insult my friend, you jerk,” Naruto said in a low, dangerous voice, bringing his fingers together into the clone seal. “Anything you try, I’ll return a thousand times more damage to you!”

“Why don’t you _try_ if you can, you monster fox!” Mizuki yelled, his voice rising in anger.

Naruto turned his head slightly to look at you, the familiar, cheeky smile returning to his battered face. “Hey [Name]-chan. Let’s do this!”

You nodded, and imitated his hand seal in a flash.

“Kage bunshin no jutsu!” you and Naruto shouted in unison. You immediately felt like passing out. The technique had drained a considerable amount of your chakra, and you weren’t in the best shape to begin with. Additionally, the number of clones Naruto summoned far surpassed your own, _and_ he was still standing on his own two feet. You studied the hundreds of Naruto shadow clones, envious of his sizeable amounts of chakra. Still though, you were pleased. It seemed both of you had mastered the shadow clone jutsu well after all.

“W-what…?” Mizuki stared in disbelief at the sheer size of the [Name] and Naruto clone army.

“Come and get me!” some of the Naruto clones chimed, all grinning profusely.

“If you’re not coming, we are!” the rest cheered in synchronization. A shrill, terrified scream pierced the air as Narutos and [Name]s converged on Mizuki’s form. You then dispersed your clones with a quick hand seal, as did Naruto, feeling smugly satisfied.

“Iruka-sensei, are you okay?”

You and Naruto rushed over to him, ignoring and leaving behind the feebly stirring body of Mizuki.

“Yeah…” he said softly, smiling weakly up at you. “Guys, come here for a second. I want to give you something.”

You and Naruto approached cautiously, and Iruka nodded encouragingly. “Close your eyes.” Both of you did at once.

“Sensei, are you done yet?” Naruto asked impatiently.

“All right, open them.”

Your eyes opened slowly, and you saw that Iruka had Naruto’s goggles in one hand, and a giant smile stretched his face. “Congratulations. You graduate!”

Your hand crept to your forehead, feeling the unfamiliar weight of a hitai-ate resting there. Your hands traced the Konoha symbol etched in the metal plate as Naruto gazed at Iruka in shock.

“All right, let’s celebrate. I’ll treat the two of you to ramen!”

Naruto’s lips trembled, and he ran forwards and tackled Iruka to the ground in a hug. “Iruka-sensei!”

“Ouch, that hurts!”

You stood a ways away, smiling so wide that your face began to ache. This beautiful bonding moment…it was so much more touching watching it live than on a TV screen.

-:-

The next day, you and Naruto proudly sauntered into the classroom for the explanation meeting, headbands gleaming on both your foreheads. When Iruka began to list the people on Team 6, you shook Naruto awake.

“As for the seventh team, there has been a slight change due to the increase of the number of graduates,” Iruka continued. “I will read out the members of this team now. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and [Last Name] [First Name].”

Naruto gave you a high five and beamed at you. “We’re on the same team, believe it! Now if only Sasuke-teme wasn’t with us, Team 7 would be _perfect!_ ”

Sakura glared at Naruto, looking sour. “If only _you_ weren’t, then the team would be perfect.”

You laughed, drawing comfort from the sound of their ceaseless bickering. It never ceased to amaze you how at home you felt in the shinobi world, with these characters you’ve always admired, respected, and ah…crushed on for so long.

-:-

“Let’s see, why don’t you introduce yourselves?”

“Introduce ourselves? What should we say?” Sakura inquired, leaning forwards.

“What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that.”

“Hey, why don’t you introduce yourself first, sensei?” Naruto asked, playing with his forehead protector.

“Me?” Kakashi asked, his tone slightly amused. “I’m Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate…I don’t feel like telling you that. As for my dream…” he paused, his eyes flickering over the four of you before continuing. “…I have a few hobbies.”

“Well, that was useless. All he really told us was his name,” Sakura grumbled, sounding thoroughly annoyed. Naruto nodded in agreement.

“Now it’s your turn,” Kakashi said, pointing at Naruto. “You first.”

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I pour the hot water. My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramen! And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage. So then, the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I’m somebody, somebody important!” When he finished, he grinned cheekily up at Kakashi.

His visible eye widened, but he continued impassively. “Okay, next.”

“I’m Haruno Sakura! I like…well the person I like is…” she glanced at Sasuke and giggled. “And my hobby is…well, my dream is to…” she dissolved into a fit of helpless giggles. Kakashi cleared his throat noisily.

“And? What do you hate?”

“Naruto,” she responded promptly.

“Ehh…?!” he protested, looking disgruntled.

“Next.”

You glanced at Sasuke, who didn’t seem inclined to answer, so you spoke. “I’m [Last Name] [First Name].” You went on to describe your likes, dislikes and hobbies, and finished with, “And my goal…is to become a strong kunoichi of the LeafVillage.”

“I see,” Kakashi nodded once, turning to Sasuke. “And you?”

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don’t particularly like anything. And my dream…is an ambition that I have no intention of leaving as just a dream. The revival of my clan…and to kill a certain someone.”

Again, Kakashi’s eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t comment. “That’s all very interesting. You four have unique personalities, and I like that. We’re going to begin a mission starting tomorrow. Survival training.”

“If it’s a mission, what’s the point of training?” Sakura questioned. “We’ve had loads of training back at the Academy already.”

“This is no ordinary training,” Kakashi said, enjoying himself. He began to explain the dropout rate, the small number of graduates who will go on to become genin. Sakura and Naruto looked unnerved.

“Whether you pass or fail is determined tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring all your equipment and we’ll meet at 5 AM! Now then, the meeting’s over. Oh yeah…and don’t eat breakfast. You’ll throw up if you do.”

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day’s events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn’t like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn’t supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

“Genjutsu…” you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

“Rin…” he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

-:-

The next morning, you accompanied Naruto to the training ground, where you met the rest of your team. You had a pretty good idea how long Kakashi-sensei was going to take, so you pulled out your shuriken and started flinging them idly at the tree. To your delight, you were able to hit the target most of the time. When you mentioned your observation to Naruto however, you caught sight of Sasuke’s smirk and you glared at him, wishing Kakashi-sensei would hurry up.

_Go to **Chapter 22.**_


	17. Defiance

You glared at Mizuki, your patience wearing thin. “No way, you traitor! What makes you think I’ll betray my own village by stealing that scroll for you? All you want is to have it for yourself, isn’t that right?”

The cheerful expression on Naruto’s face vanished, replaced by doubt. “[Name]-chan, Mizuki-sensei isn’t like that…he just wants to help us graduate!”

“By stealing a scroll filled with dangerous forbidden jutsu?” you spat, directing your words at Mizuki. Nevertheless, Naruto flinched at your harsh tone. “I’m sorry, Naruto, but I can’t let you be tricked by this creep.”

Mizuki eyed you calmly. You had to give him some credit. Even in this situation, the guy’s acting was flawlessly executed. He genuinely looked hurt by your words. He placed his hand over his heart. “I – your sensei – trick you? [Name], what are you going on about?”

“I…” you muttered, your hand inching towards the shuriken pouch Iruka had given you a few days ago. You were itching to try out the new weapons with your shadow-clone-training acquired skills.

“Well, if you don’t want to, I certainly won’t pressure you,” Mizuki continued steadily, with just the right amount of regret saturating his voice. “Naruto, go on.”

You were about to protest when you realized that in the anime, Naruto only graduated because he was able to pull off the shadow clone stunt to Iruka. If you messed up his chances, he might never graduate! You waited until he disappeared before you focused your attention on Mizuki. He had dropped his sympathetic pretences and was glowering at you with hate-filled eyes.

“What?” you asked innocently, reaching into your pouch and pulling out a fistful of shuriken.

“You really think you can take on a chuunin all by yourself?” he sneered. “Why, you’re not even a genin yet, [Name]. How ambitious. You should run away while you still can.”

_Yes, good idea. You should run and get help, immediately! What were you thinking, taking on Mizuki all by yourself? Go to **Chapter 19.**_

_You’re staying and fighting! No way will you pass up this chance! Go to **Chapter 20.**_


	18. When All Else Fails...

"Sure, okay…" you lied. Mizuki watched your expression with a suspicious look on his face. You struggled to keep yours blank and emotionless. He looked satisfied, and began to explain what to do to you and Naruto. When he bid you goodbye and good luck, you tapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"What, [Name]-chan?" he asked, sounding distracted.

"Mizuki…he's just lying to us. He actually wants that scroll for himself."

"Ah, no of course not," Naruto said, impatience creeping into his voice. "Come on, we really should hurry, we might not have a chance like this ever again!"

"I'm serious!" you insisted, shaking his shoulders lightly to get him to pay more attention. Couldn't he understand that you meant what you were saying?

"Come on, [Name]-chan, Mizuki-sensei's not like that."

You sighed in exasperation. "But he is, you don't get it! He's evil and he wants to kill you and steal the scroll for himself."

Naruto gave you an odd look. "[Name]-chan, are you okay?"

"Yes!" you almost shouted, frustrated.

"Maybe…I should just do it myself," Naruto said, backing away. You blinked.

"Naruto –" you began, but suddenly Mizuki was leering before you, a fake smile plastered to his face.

"Ah, [Name]…I see you're being… _difficult._ Naruto, go on ahead. I'll reason with her," he ordered, pushing Naruto roughly away. He glanced at you apologetically before taking off into the woods. You tried to follow, but Mizuki stopped you.

"Not so fast," he said smoothly, clutching your arm with a vice-like grip. You glared at him hotly for a moment, then punched him as hard as you could with your free hand. Taking advantage of his evident surprise, you lunged out of his reach.

_Go to_ _**Chapter 19.** _


	19. Escape

Without a backwards glance, you fled. You heard the whiz of shuriken behind your back and you ducked, but kept running. You could tell that Mizuki was not pursuing you. You knew he had better things to do, namely getting rid of Naruto. And you had better things to do than try and stall Mizuki. You had to go find the Hokage, and fast.

-:-

Thinking back on it, barging into the Hokage`s office uninvited was probably not the best idea. But at the moment, you were frantic, and you had to do something.

"Hokage-sama!" you wheezed, almost running into him when you entered the office. The chuunin stationed prepared to restrain you but the Hokage raised his hand to stop them.

"Yes, what is it, [Name]?" he inquired, puffing thoughtfully on his pipe.

You explained the situation about Mizuki tricking Naruto into stealing the scroll. "I tried to stop him, I really did," you explained, hanging your head in shame. "But I ran away in the end. I'm sorry."

The Hokage chewed on the end of his pipe, deep in thought. "No, you did the right thing, coming to tell me directly. Now excuse me while I go explain the situation to the jounin who are pursuing Naruto at the moment. They need to know their true target before he gets away."

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama," you whispered gratefully as the Hokage left the office. You glanced nervously at the two chuunin, who looked more than slightly annoyed and decided to get the heck out of there before anything bad happened.

-:-

"What's going to happen now-ttebayo?"

You and Naruto had been called to the Hokage's office a few hours later by the same two chuunin who you had encountered earlier. You had decided to stay as far away from them as possible, which was probably a good idea.

"Hey, old man. Did you hear me?" Naruto asked, raising his voice slightly. You could tell he was agitated. The chuunin bristled, and one of them muttered, "Those rude kids…"

The Hokage laughed, brushing off Naruto's mild insult with amazing tolerance. "As I recall, both of you failed the graduation exam."

You hung your head and Naruto nodded.

"I also recall that both of you narrowly escaped being tricked and killed by the traitor, Mizuki."

Naruto hung his head and you nodded.

"You two are persistent. I like that. It's a good trait to have as a ninja," he said warmly. "And Naruto?"

"Hai!"

"You've learned the kinjutsu multiple shadow clone jutsu from the scroll of forbidden seals, am I right?" the Hokage continued. When Naruto just blushed furiously, he took it as a yes.

"I want you to teach it to [Name]."

"I beg your pardon?" you asked, not sure if you heard correctly. Naruto just started at the Hokage, his mouth agape.

"I want Naruto to teach the technique to [Name]," he repeated. "As I recall, Mizuki told you that once you've learned a technique from the scroll and perform it to Iruka, he would allow you to graduate, yes?" Again, he took Naruto's silence and reddening face as a yes.

"This time though, it's not a trick," the Third said, his eyes twinkling. "Perform it to your sensei, and I'll see to it that you both graduate."

-:-

"Absolutely not!" Iruka exclaimed, shaking his head.

You and Naruto had been training all afternoon, and you've both finally gotten the hang of the shadow clone jutsu. Afterwards, you took a short break to replenish your chakra stores. Then, you both went to find Iruka, who instantly refused.

"But the old man said so himself!" Naruto whined, tugging at Iruka's flak jacket.

You stepped forward. "Please, Iruka-sensei. If you don't believe us, you can ask Hokage-sama yourself. He really did tell us that if we showed you, we could graduate."

He was still sceptical, but grudgingly allowed himself to be dragged to the Academy building where the Hokage informed him that yes, what you and Naruto had been saying was true.

Iruka sighed in defeat and handed each of you a forehead protector. "You know, it's only going to get harder from here, [Name], Naruto."

You gave him a joyful smile. "That won't be a problem for us, sensei."

"Yeah, what she said! Believe it!" Naruto proclaimed, fastening his hitai-ate on his forehead with an air of superiority.

Iruka groaned. "All right. Anyways, the rest of the graduates have already been assigned to a team, because you've missed the explanation meeting this morning. Naruto, [Name], you two are going to be assigned to Team 7 with Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. They've postponed the team meeting for a couple of hours, which gives both of you some time to collect yourselves and rest up."

"All right!" Naruto declare. "That'd be great!"

"Yeah!" you agreed enthusiastically, thrilled that you both got to graduate _and_ be placed on Naruto`s team.

-:-

"Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" Sakura inquired, leaning forwards.

"What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that."

"Ano-sa, ano-sa, why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" Naruto asked, playing with his forehead protector.

"Me?" Kakashi asked, his tone slightly amused. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate…I don't feel like telling you that. As for my dream…" he paused, his eyes flickering over the four of you before continuing. "…I have a few hobbies."

"Well, that was useless. All he really told us was his name," Sakura grumbled, sounding thoroughly annoyed. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Now it's your turn," Kakashi said, pointing at Naruto. "You first."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I pour the hot water. My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramen! And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage. So then, the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody, somebody important!" When he finished, he grinned cheekily up at Kakashi.

His visible eye widened, but he continued impassively. "Okay, next."

"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like…well the person I like is…" she glanced at Sasuke and giggled. "And my hobby is…well, my dream is to…" she dissolved into a fit of helpless giggles. Kakashi cleared his throat noisily.

"And? What do you hate?"

"Naruto," she responded promptly.

"Ehh…?!" he protested, looking disgruntled.

"Next."

You glanced at Sasuke, who didn't seem inclined to answer, so you spoke. "I'm [Last Name] [First Name]." You went on to describe your likes, dislikes and hobbies, and finished with, "And my goal…is to become a strong kunoichi of the Leaf Village."

"I see," Kakashi nodded once, turning to Sasuke. "And you?"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. And my dream…is an ambition that I have no intention of leaving as just a dream. The revival of my clan…and to kill a certain someone."

Again, Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't comment. "That's all very interesting. You four have unique personalities, and I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow. Survival training."

"If it's a mission, what's the point of training?" Sakura questioned. "We've had loads of training back at the Academy already."

"This is no ordinary training," Kakashi said, enjoying himself. He began to explain the dropout rate, the small number of graduates who will go on to become genin. Sakura and Naruto looked unnerved.

"Whether you pass or fail is determined tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring all your equipment and we'll meet at 5 AM! Now then, the meeting's over. Oh yeah…and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up if you do."

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day's events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn't like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn't supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

"Genjutsu…" you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

"Rin…" he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

-:-

The next morning, you accompanied Naruto to the training ground, where you met the rest of your team. You had a pretty good idea how long Kakashi-sensei was going to take, so you pulled out your shuriken and started flinging them idly at the tree. To your delight, you were able to hit the target most of the time. When you mentioned your observation to Naruto however, you caught sight of Sasuke's smirk and you glared at him, wishing Kakashi-sensei would hurry up.

_Go to **[Chapter 22.]()**_


	20. Miscalculations

"And why should I run away? I'm not afraid of you," you stated, surprised that your voice was deadly calm. Mizuki seemed just as taken aback by your declaration, but he just shrugged. Then he twisted his features into a gruesome approximation of a smile.

"I was going to save this for the Uzumaki brat, but I suppose I can finish you off quickly enough without having to damage my equipment."

You stiffened, furious at his insufferable insolence. He would pay for insulting your friend Naruto. With those ominous words, Mizuki yanked a giant shuriken off his back. Before he could launch the dangerous missile at your vital organs, you feinted to the side and flung a flurry of shuriken of your own at his chest.

As you expected, the chuunin dodged them with ease, but you had secured a few precious seconds of time for Naruto. Mizuki also had to re-pinpoint your location. With a monstrous shuriken of that size and weight, air resistance would surely be working against him, buying just enough time for you to leap nimbly behind his unprotected back. Your fingers tightened around the handle of a polished kunai, but he was faster. Before you could react, he had his own kunai pressed to your throat.

"Die!" he hissed, digging the knife painfully – but not fatally – into your collarbone. You aimed a swift kick at his shins, thanking your lucky stars that Mizuki was the kind of man that liked to play with his opponents rather than finish them off quickly. Otherwise, you would be dead by now. You jerked your head out of his reach and deftly yanked the kunai out of your neck.

The wound wasn't exactly deep, but the sticky flow of hot blood and the stabbing pain that came with it was nauseating. You gave a small cough and staggered back, taking a steadying breath to calm yourself.

"I warned you not to mess with stronger, more powerful shinobi," he taunted. With a jolt of terror, you realized that Mizuki's voice was coming from directly behind you. You ducked instinctively and rolled out of the way.

"You can't escape."

Mizuki's foot connected with the side of your head and you flew several metres into the air. With a sickening crack, your body collided head on into the trunk of a tree. You let out an involuntary howl of pain. In a flash, Mizuki was perched on the branch where you lay, helpless and broken. His foot prodded your side none too gently and you clenched your teeth to muffle another screech issuing from your throat.

"Ah, something's broken?" Mizuki asked conversationally, sounding positively amused. You groaned in response. You _really_ didn't want to know the answer to that question.

He threw back his head and laughed. "Now, to finish this."

You raised your right arm experimentally, delighted that it was still working. There was only one thing you could do. Your fingers weaved through a familiar pattern of hand seals for the third time in one week.

"Kawarimi no jutsu," you whispered, summoning the last of your strength with sheer willpower to roll aside and plummet to the ground below. In a lethargic, pain-induced haze, you watched as Mizuki stabbed what appeared to be your body in the heart. You watched as he turned his back on you, not noticing that the 'you' had turned into kunai-embedded log. He bounded into the night, chuckling to himself and you sighed in relief. Then you allowed yourself to succumb to the pain and passed out.

-:-

"[Name]-chan! Hey, [Name]-chan, you've got to wake up!" A familiar voice, hoarse with anxiety dragged you from your peaceful slumber. You gasped as the sleep drained from our limbs, exposing you to the full potency of your injuries. You opened your eyes, blinded momentarily by the soft glow of sunrise. When you adjusted to the brightness, you found a pair of vivid blue eyes gazing worriedly at you.

"H-hey, Naruto," you said weakly, trying to lift your head.

"Whoa, careful [Name]," you heard Iruka say. "You don't look so good."

"No," you admitted, stifling a yelp of pain when your leg gave way as you tried to stand.

"Sensei, what are you waiting for?" Naruto complained, crossing his arms. "We have to get her to the hospital!"

"One thing first. Izumo and Kotetsu spotted your confrontation with Mizuki while on patrol duty, [Name]," he smiled at your reddening face. "Your bravery was admirable."

You flushed even redder. You must be dreaming. "B-bravery? But I –"

"The way you fought, [Name] – you fought like a true shinobi."

You smiled at him, bewildered. Iruka pointed at your forehead.

"Congratulations, you graduate!"

Your trembling hand moved to where he was pointing. Your fingers caressed the Konoha symbol etched into the cool, smooth metal plate of the forehead protector. A grin stretched your face, and you impulsively gave Iruka a crushing hug. He looked startled, and patted you awkwardly on the back with one hand. "Be careful, [Name]. You're still injured. Now Naruto, let's get her to the hospital."

-:-

You attempted to get through the classroom doorway with your crutches, but it wasn't an easy task. Then there was the business with sitting down properly at a desk. When you finally took a seat, Iruka had already begun addressing the class and listing out the members of the teams.

"As for the seventh team, there has been a slight change due to the increase of the number of graduates," he was saying. "I will read out the members of this team now. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and [Last Name] [First Name]."

Naruto gave you a high five and beamed at you. "We're on the same team, believe it! Now if only Sasuke-teme wasn't with us, Team 7 would be _perfect!_ "

Sakura glared at Naruto, looking sour. "If only _you_ weren't, then the team would be perfect."

You laughed, drawing comfort from the sound of their ceaseless bickering. It never ceased to amaze you how at home you felt in the shinobi world, with these characters you've always admired, respected, and ah…crushed on for so long.

-:-

"Let's see, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" Sakura inquired, leaning forwards.

"What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that."

"Ano-sa, ano-sa, why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" Naruto asked, playing with his forehead protector.

"Me?" Kakashi asked, his tone slightly amused. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate…I don't feel like telling you that. As for my dream…" he paused, his eyes flickering over the four of you before continuing. "…I have a few hobbies."

"Well, that was useless. All he really told us was his name," Sakura grumbled, sounding thoroughly annoyed. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Now it's your turn," Kakashi said, pointing at Naruto. "You first."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I pour the hot water. My hobby is to eat and compare cup ramen! And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage. So then, the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody, somebody important!" When he finished, he grinned cheekily up at Kakashi.

His visible eye widened, but he continued impassively. "Okay, next."

"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like…well the person I like is…" she glanced at Sasuke and giggled. "And my hobby is…well, my dream is to…" she dissolved into a fit of helpless giggles. Kakashi cleared his throat noisily.

"And? What do you hate?"

"Naruto," she responded promptly.

"Ehh…?!" he protested, looking disgruntled.

"Next."

You glanced at Sasuke, who didn't seem inclined to answer, so you spoke. "I'm [Last Name] [First Name]." You went on to describe your likes, dislikes and hobbies, and finished with, "And my goal…is to become a strong kunoichi of the Leaf Village."

"I see," Kakashi nodded once, turning to Sasuke. "And you?"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. And my dream…is an ambition that I have no intention of leaving as just a dream. The revival of my clan…and to kill a certain someone."

Again, Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't comment. "That's all very interesting. You four have unique personalities, and I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow. Survival training."

"If it's a mission, what's the point of training?" Sakura questioned. "We've had loads of training back at the Academy already."

"This is no ordinary training," Kakashi said, enjoying himself. He began to explain the dropout rate, the small number of graduates who will go on to become genin. Sakura and Naruto looked unnerved.

"Whether you pass or fail is determined tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring all your equipment and we'll meet at 5 AM! Now then, the meeting's over. Oh yeah…and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up if you do."

-:-

That night, you had the first dream since you arrived in the ninja world.

And it was strange, even by your standards. It started out normal enough, a vague, fuzzy replay of the day's events and the odd, dreamlike quality characteristic of dreams.

You floated around, minding your own business, until the scene before you tore apart like strips of painted canvas. And now, fear clouded your mind, because it wasn't like any nightmare you had ever experienced before. There was no strange haze that blurred your thoughts, no fuzziness that confirmed that it was just a dream. You were paralyzed with terror, but you forced yourself to back away from the gaping holes in the canvas. Then you froze again, as the silhouette of a man stepped out of the blackness and gazed at you with the strangest case of heterochromia you had ever seen. His left eye was deep purple, while his right eye was crimson with the telltale design of a matured Sharingan. That man…he wasn't supposed to obtain the Rinnegan until Shippuden, so what was up with that?

You told your body to move, but it would not respond to your frantic signals. Somehow, against your will, you were held rooted to the spot.

"Genjutsu…" you breathed. With a mix of revulsion and awe, you gazed as the man reached towards your face, almost lovingly, with a strange expression on his face.

"Rin…" he whispered tenderly, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. His fingers lightly brushed your cheek and you flinched, terrified. His eyes filled with sadness and he vanished. You awoke, your face pale and beaded with perspiration, then fell back into a restless, dreamless slumber.

_Go to_ _**Chapter 21.** _


	21. Productive Morning

The next day, you didn't have much of an appetite, so you skipped breakfast like Kakashi-sensei suggested. The dream had really shaken you up, and you weren't keen on throwing up on account of it. You hoped yesterday's dinner was enough to keep your energy from depleting. And now that you were thinking about it, the food in your fridge was rapidly dwindling and you didn't have the proper currency to buy things in this world.

"Don't worry about it," Iruka had reassured you when you had confided your uncertainties to him. "Once you begin to complete missions, you'll earn plenty of ryo, so you don't need to be bothered about going hungry."

You encountered Sasuke somewhere along the way to the training grounds, and by unspoken consent, you walked alongside him in mutual silence. It was still dark, and the sky was tinged with a smouldering purple glow. Eventually, the pair of you met with Sakura and Naruto, who both looked as bleary-eyed as you felt.

"Good morning…" Sakura yawned, rubbing her eyes. You raised your hand in greeting, but didn't bother to say anything. The four of you waited as the sky lightened, and the sun began to rise.

-:-

"And then, I did the multi shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto was saying, raising his arms dramatically. "Iruka-sensei then passed me because of it, cool huh?"

You nodded.

"Do you want me to show you my new technique-ttebayo? I can teach you if you want!"

You nodded again, eagerly. It would be a while before Kakashi-sensei arrived, and you figured it would be nice to get some training done in the meantime. Naruto jumped to his feet, all sleepiness forgotten as he began to describe and demonstrate how to do kage bunshin.

"Your memory is incredible," you marvelled, as Naruto seemed to recite exactly what was written on the Scroll of Seals. He flushed and shrugged nonchalantly, but you could tell he was flattered.

As you practised with Naruto, Sakura frowned at the two of you disapprovingly every once in a while. She seemed to want to object, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. She kept glancing at Sasuke, then back at you and Naruto, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"I think you've got the hang of it," Naruto finally said, when you collapsed to the floor, panting. "Hey, you all right?" he added anxiously.

You lifted your arm to indicate that you were fine, but you felt completely drained of chakra. This was probably why this jutsu was labelled as a kinjutsu – if you kept it up, it wouldn't end well.

"Thanks so much for teaching it to me, Naruto," you blinked gratefully at him. He gave you a lopsided grin, then helped you to your feet. You were glad Kakashi wasn't here yet, because it gave you time to rest.

_Go to_ _**Chapter 22.** _


	22. The Bell Test Begins!

When Kakashi finally arrived, Sakura and Naruto leapt to their feet and chorused in unison, "You're late!"

He brushed off their accusations cheerfully. "A black cat crossed my path…so I had to take the other way."

Kakashi ignored the stream of protests and objections issuing from his team and walked over to a tree stump with an alarm clock placed on it. He raised his voice slightly and held up three bells. "This alarm is set to 12 PM. All you need to do is get these bells from me. If you can't, you won't get lunch. And I'm going to tie you to that log, and eat mine in front of you."

Naruto gaped at him in horror, clutching at his stomach. "So that's why you told us to skip breakfast…"

Kakashi's eyes glittered. "Heh heh…"

"But wait, why are there only three bells?" Sakura pointed out, frowning.

"Since there's only three, at least one of you will have to be tied to the log. And that person will fail, because he failed to complete the mission. That person will be sent back to the Academy. You won't be able to get these unless you are prepared to kill me."

"But that's too dangerous, sensei!" Sakura protested. Naruto nodded in agreement, swallowing nervously.

"We'll start after I say 'ready, start'," Kakashi continued, ignoring them. "Ok, ready…start."

Naruto tugged a kunai out of his pouch and ran headlong at the sensei. Kakashi knocked him aside easily with one hand. Then he pulled out his orange book, flipped it open, and began to read.

"W-what are you doing, sensei?" Sakura asked uneasily.

"I'm reading," he replied, oblivious to his students' visible frustration.

"Why?" Naruto asked, balling up his fists.

"I want to know the story, of course," Kakashi answered, still immersed in his book. "Don't worry about it. It's the same whether I'm reading or not. Now will you begin and stop asking me weird questions?"

"The only thing weird is your haircut..." Naruto grumbled, but Kakashi didn't seem to notice.

Sasuke, Sakura, and you bounded into the forest, intent on finding a hiding spot while Naruto stayed out in the open, his fists clenched. You sensed the presence of the other two nearby, and watched in rapt silence as Kakashi foiled Naruto's attacks again and again.

"A ninja should not let the enemy get behind him, you baka." Kakashi's hands formed the tiger seal, but he still seemed to be entranced by his book.

"Naruto, watch out! You're going to die!" Sakura squeaked in alarm, instantly revealing her position to you and the rest of the team.

"You're too late," Kakashi said calmly. "Secret finger jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

The momentum propelled Naruto several metres into the air and he landed in the stream with an unceremonious splash. Kakashi acted as thought nothing had happened. He flipped open his book again. "Let's see…where was I?"

Two shuriken sped towards Kakashi, who caught them on his fingertips without sparing a glance towards Naruto, who resurfaced, spluttering. You gazed in awe at his prowess. At this rate, you wouldn't even stand a chance, even if you _did_ work with the other three.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi questioned idly, pocketing the shuriken. "If you don't get a bell before noon, you don't get lunch."

As if on cue, your stomach grumbled. You cursed inwardly for not eating breakfast. Hearing Naruto yell something in frustration, you glanced up just in time to see him using shadow clones to distract Kakashi.

"A ninja shouldn't let the enemy get behind him, right, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked triumphantly, clinging onto Kakashi's back.

You watched as Kakashi used the replacement jutsu, and Naruto accidentally punched his own clone instead. When he undid the jutsu, he stood there alone, looking miserable at his defeat. Suddenly, you felt odd. You had forgotten what was coming next. Not that it mattered, you reasoned to yourself, trying to conquer the overpowering sense that something was off. How could you forget, though…? You tried to shake it off.

Now, you decided, was the time to do something…or not. You stared at Naruto's unhappy expression, torn. Suddenly, you someone tapped you lightly on the back.

"Huh?" you gave a small yelp, startled.

_If you ignore the person and leave your hiding spot to go help Naruto, go to_ _**Chapter 30.** _

_If you turn around, hoping it wasn't Kakashi-sensei, go to_ _**Chapter 31.** _

_Yikes! Someone found you! If you quickly do a body replacement jutsu and find another place to hide, go to_ _**Chapter 32.** _


	23. A Fragment of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> 
> 
> **Important Note:** Please do not continue reading unless you have been specifically directed to this page within another chapter. The following contains important potential spoilers that are not yet able to be revealed for at least a couple more chapters for most choices.   
> 
> 
> Every option will eventually lead to this chapter because it's important, but please only read it when the time is right. ;)  
>  You have been warned!

You vision swam, and you swayed alarmingly. Someone gripped your arm to steady you.

"[Name], are you okay?" The concerned voice of your sensei sounded distant, garbled. You tried to reassure the rest of your team that you were perfectly fine, but no words escaped your lips. The noises around you faded gradually and a bright glow suddenly invaded your field of vision, forcing you to shield your eyes with one hand.

"W-where am I…?" you managed, not exactly expecting a reply but stunned by the sudden eerie silence. Where did everyone go?

"Your subconscious." The voice that spoke came from behind you, and it was unmistakably female. You whirled around, and in the swirling, misty light stood girl who looked a few years older than you were. She was vaguely familiar, but you couldn't place the soft, chin-length brown hair, the distinctive purple markings on her cheeks, the wide-set chocolate eyes. Trying to recall who she was – it was like trying to remember a disappearing dream.

"Who are you?" you whispered, your (e/c) eyes gazing into her warm brown ones. She gave you a wry smile.

"My name is of little importance," she replied gently.

"But –"

She held up one finger to her lips. "You will understand in due time. But I have a question for you. Has anything…strange been happening to you lately?"

If someone had asked you that a week ago, you would have laughed. You had been transported into the ninja world, told that you were _already_ a kunoichi, and given ninjutsu talent you didn't know you possessed via shadow clone dispersion. Of course it was strange! Somehow though, you had gotten accustomed to it. Your life back on Earth seemed like a faraway, long-forgotten dream, not that you minded though. These days, none of that stuff you would consider _strange_ anymore _._ However…

"I can't seem to remember a lot of the details in the Naruto episodes I've watched anymore," you muttered, sounding ridiculously foolish. "I know I've watched at least up to episode (#), but I can't remember the things that happened…" This girl was _part_ of the Naruto world – what you were saying was obviously going to sound downright outrageous. Wait…how did _you_ know she was part of the Naruto world?

She gave you a pained smile. "That's because it's the future. How can you remember the future? One small adjustment in history can change its course forever."

"You're Rin!" you blurted out suddenly, thinking of the man in your nightmare. You had no idea how you knew, you just did. She neither acknowledged nor denied it, but you were positive you were correct.

"Even then," she continued, her eyes sparkling. "You _will_ remember certain things, despite them not happening yet. But be careful. This knowledge will both be a blessing and a curse. You could potentially save some of the lives of the people you care about, but you could also drastically alter the world."

"What?!" you squeaked, disconcerted by the daunting prospect. "Is that why I was brought here?"

Rin's face took on a wistful look. "No. It's a…side effect."

"Side effect?" you repeated disbelievingly.

Her eyes glazed over. "Ever since I died –"

"You're dead?" you interrupted, stunned at her casualness.

"Yes," she said shortly. "Though I thought you knew that already."

You ignored her last comment. "Does that mean I'm dead too?"

Rin cracked a small, brief smile. "No. You're definitely alive. As I was saying, when I died…he tried to bring me back." Her face twisted into a disgusted expression and her voice sounded distant. "Edo tensei. That baka…got himself mixed up with the wrong sort of people…the wrong sort of ideas."

"Edo tensei…" you murmured. You've heard that term before, somewhere, but you just couldn't remember. You scrunched up your face in concentration.

"Don't think to hard," Rin advised. "It won't do you any good."

You gave a sigh of defeat. How had she known?

"…But of course, it didn't work. He needed to call my soul from the afterlife and bind it within a living sacrifice." She stared at you with a mix of guilt and sorrow. "But my soul wasn't where he thought it would be. He couldn't reincarnate me…he couldn't find me…until he found you. You were the answer to everything."

"W-why?" you asked, your voice barely a whisper.

A faint smile graced her lips. "I think you know the answer. Look deep in your heart. What do you see?"

You shook your head stubbornly. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Me," Rin reached towards you and placed her hand lightly on your arm. You flinched at the contact. For someone who was allegedly dead, she felt solid, warm and alive.

"You?" you asked in utter bewilderment, wanting nothing more than to shake her off, but unable to find a polite way to do so.

"He couldn't recall me into the world, because I had already re-entered another one upon my death. My soul…it lives inside you."

"Excuse me?"

Rin pointed at your chest. "A fragment of my spirit lives within your heart."

Your spirits sank. "Is that why…is that why I can do ninjutsu? Is that why –" you gestured at your forehead protector unhappily. "– I'm a ninja?" You felt a crushing wave of despair. Here you were, happily deceiving yourself into thinking that you were a kunoichi of the Leaf, and –

She laughed lightly and shook her head. "Of course not! My presence has nothing to do with your shinobi abilities. That would be _him._ But you're a ninja all right, and your skills are solely your own." Then her tone darkened. "No, my existence in your body has brought you different consequences. It's because of me that he brought you into this world."

Something that was nagging at the back of your mind ever since Rin revealed her vitality status suddenly clicked in place. "Hold on, who is… _he?_ " you asked her suspiciously. "You keep mentioning a he, so who exactly _is_ he?"

She gave you an appraising frown, her eyebrows furrowing. "The anime you watched…the manga you read, didn't it mention him? Don't you remember?"

"Who?" you persisted, trying to delve deep into your thoughts and memories but unable to figure out what she meant.

Her eyes closed briefly. "My genin teammate. Obito…Uchiha."

The name rang a distant bell, like an ever-fading memory. But you suddenly froze, your thoughts on her previous words. "Rin…this is your world. Anime, manga, how on earth do you know…?"

You could swear she was blushing. "I've, well…sort of been residing in your body for a while now."

"For how long?" you demanded, taken aback.

"Ever since you started watching and reading Naruto," she mumbled, her face reddening. You cringed. That long?

"Why…? How…?" you spluttered, your hand flying to your mouth.

She shrugged, looking extremely embarrassed. "Your guess is as good as mine. I just woke up inside you one day, when you were watching the first episode…" She caught a glimpse of your horrified face and went on quickly. "I'm not there _all_ the time, don't jump to conclusions! The fleeting moments I seem to be aware of myself and my surroundings were when you were watching or reading Naruto. And the instant Obito summoned you into my world, that was when I was fully alert of everything around me at all times."

"Now that's a relief," you muttered, still in a daze. Then you flashed her a happy grin. So the reason you were sent to the Naruto world was because of her presence! "Hey, that's great! Thanks for being in my body. Now all I need to do is thank that Obito guy for –"

"You don't understand!" Rin protested, then she looked alarmed. "Obito guy? Wait a moment, so you really don't remember who he is?"

Your eyes narrowed. "Am I supposed to?"

"But I didn't erase _those_ memories…" she was mumbling to herself, not paying attention to your question. "I would've known better than to –"

"Hold it!" you commanded, your thoughts reeling. "What do you mean erased my memories? I thought you said I only don't remember the information in the episodes because they take place in the future!"

She glanced at your suspicious expression, alarmed. "I, well…partly. But –"

"So you lied?" you asked, eying her fearful expression with fierce satisfaction. "You have no right to remove my memories. Give them back!"

Rin folded her arms over her chest crossly. "No. It's for the best."

"But you said I had to save the lives of people I care about!" you protested loudly, causing her to jump. "Someone is going to die, and because of you, I've forgotten who, isn't it?"

She was silent.

"I need to know!" you pleaded, your voice rising in pitch and volume despite your best efforts to keep it down. "What good would I do if I don't even know the bad things that are going to happen?"

"No one else knows," she reminded you calmly.

"But I used to," you muttered.

Rin took a deep breath. "I already told you, I've allowed you to keep a few memories. It'd do no one any good if you knew exactly what was going to happen but fail to evade it. Trust me on this one, [Name]. You'll do far more damage trying to fix everything, because you'll just cause more problems."

You wanted to object, you wanted to yell at her and say that she didn't understand anything…but something in you knew that her words rang true. Against your will, a small part of you agreed with her.

"The part of me that's agreeing with you is your soul, isn't it?" you asked warily, your lips curving into a small smile despite your attempts to remain angry at her.

Rin raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Perhaps."

"Ok, fine. But how on earth am I going to do anything if I don't _know_ anything?" you questioned.

"Just follow your heart," she said simply. "Follow the path of your ninja way and believe in yourself. Knowing will just bring your more pain than necessary. You don't need foresight to protect those you love, to change the world for the better."

"Who said anything about changing the world?" you asked nervously, biting your lip.

Rin smiled again. "As I've said before, the smallest change can bring lasting effects. Your presence has already changed the entire Naruto plot, hasn't it?"

"So now you're treating your world as a story now, huh?" you grumbled.

"Everyone's life is a story, [Name]. Haven't you always wanted to be part of this one? It's your chance to shine."

"Thanks," you muttered.

"By the way, I'm also erasing your memories of this conversation once you go back to your team," Rin added conversationally.

"What?!"

"It's for the best."

"I've heard that one already," you complained. "That's not fair!"

"Nothing is fair," she said reasonably, brushing off your words with remarkable patience.

"That Obito…persona. You said he only summoned me into this world because of your soul that resides within me?"

Rin nodded. "That's right. Do you remember when the Hokage dispersed your shadow clone, and then you regained all these memories of training at the Academy?"

You nodded.

"That was Obito's doing. He had already figured out that my soul had entered your body a few years ago. He was the one who sent the shadow clone to collect training experience and shinobi skills before he warped you into this world with his Kamui dimension," she explained.

"Ingenious," you marvelled, developing newfound respect for that Obito guy.

She sighed. "You could say so."

"Didn't you say that I should know who Obito was a while ago?" you wondered, trying to remember who he was. "Or did you erase all my memories of him?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes. Her fingers weaved nimbly through a series of hand seals.

"W-what are you doing…?" you asked uncertainly. Rin ignored you and continued manoeuvring through the necessary seals to perform a certain jutsu that you did not recognize. Then she tapped you lightly on the head. You gasped and blinked in amazement as the memories flooded back into your mind.

" _That_ guy?!" Your incredulous voice echoed through the misty glow. "The one that started the Fourth Shinobi World War? How could I have forgotten him?"

"My jutsu," she said. "You couldn't have forgotten by yourself."

"Of course," you nodded wisely. "Oh, so that's why he brought me here. Obito wanted to bring you back."

"Isn't that what I've been saying all this time?" Rin sighed exasperatedly.

"That's different," you protested. "I didn't understand before. You know, this memory loss is really inconvenient. But why bother letting me train? Couldn't he have just released your soul and left me to die? Not that I'm complaining of course."

"It's not that simple to understand the inner workings of his mind. He's changed…so much. I don't know," she whispered helplessly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh well, we'll figure something out," you said encouragingly. She gave you a grateful smile.

"Humph. Drat, we've been chatting for hours now, haven't we?" you asked anxiously. "My team – what are they going to think? Am I unconscious?"

"This _is_ your subconscious after all. No time has elapsed since you passed out."

"I passed out?" you repeated dubiously.

"Don't worry about it, you've just been out for a couple of seconds. They won't be alarmed," Rin said reassuringly. She placed her hand on your arm again, and closed her eyes. "Farewell, and good luck."

"Thanks…Rin. For everything."

"Not a problem, [Name]."

_Press the back button to return to the previous chapter to continue where you left off._


	24. Genjutsu Business

"I'm pretty sure it's a genjutsu," you yelled nervously, sure that you could detect Kurenai-sensei's chakra signature nearby. It seemed as though she wasn't making an effort to conceal it, leading you to think that she probably wanted her team to sense her presence. At least, that was what you hoped.

"It is," Shino agreed.

"How do you know?" Kiba asked, sounding annoyed that be was being left out.

"My insects," he replied, stretching out his arms to reveal the hundreds of beetles crawling on his sleeves. "Kurenai-sensei is highly proficient in genjutsu casting."

"She is?" you replied, somewhat confused. You felt like you probably should know, yet it kept escaping your mind. And Shino's bugs being able to sense genjutsu, you had a nagging feeling that you should've known about it…

"Y-yes, he's definitely not real," Hinata confirmed, glancing at what appeared to be a kunai lodged in her heart with a mix of revulsion and relief.

"Good, that was close," said Kiba, while Akamaru gave a joyous bark. "Let's keep going, then."

You agreed, as did Shino and Hinata. Leaving the floating Kumogakure man still hovering in the same spot with his kunai driven into Hinata's tree, your team continued to climb.

_Go to_ _**Chapter 33.** _


	25. The Head Ninja of Kumogakure

You decide to pull out your own kunai to intercept the attack.

"Hinata! Watch out!" you managed, hoping that you would be strong enough to hold out against the Kumogakure ninja's strength. Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but you had already reached towards the incoming assault with your kunai.

Instead of a resounding clash of steel as you expected, your jab sent the blade flying into another tree, narrowly missing Shino's head by inches.

"G-gomenasai…!" you squeaked, terrified at what you had just done. Shino shrugged it off, looking completely indifferent towards the near-death-experience.

The man was still floating beside Hinata, and to your horror, had already stabbed her in the chest with is knife. You cried out, until you realized that Hinata was unhurt.

"H-how…?" Kiba growled, his own kunai at the ready.

"It's a genjutsu again," Shino explained, plucking your kunai out of his tree and handing it to you. "I heard Kurenai-sensei was excellent in illusion-based attacks. This must be it."

You blushed at your mistake and quickly took the kunai, thanking him profusely. "I see. I acted foolishly."

"No, it was the right thing to do," Kiba said fervently, looking awed. "You didn't know, and if it had been real…"

You shuddered at the mental image, but Hinata piped up. "It couldn't have been. T-that man was the head ninja of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Ano… he died nine years ago."

"Who was that? How did you know him?" you asked curiously. You felt as if you should know, but somehow couldn't figure out why. He looked familiar, and somehow, you should have remembered that Hinata had some connection with that man if you had watched it on TV before.

"He abducted me when I was three," Hinata said quietly. Her words were met with a short silence. Were you supposed to know that? You couldn't quite remember anymore.

"So Kurenai-sensei sent this…this projection," Kiba muttered. "No wonder Akamaru was saying that something was weird about this guy. Sorry buddy, I should've listened to you."

The man was still floating next to Hinata, his phantom kunai still in her chest.

"I guess there's no need to dispel this genjutsu," you said, not really wanting to fall off the tree a second time. "It's not truly affecting us in any way."

Your teammates murmured in shared agreement, and continued to ascend the tree.

_Go to_ _**Chapter 33.** _


	26. Konoha's Taijutsu Expert

"Sure, Lee!" you agreed, sounding almost as enthusiastic as he was. "I'd love to train with you!"

"Yosh, [Name]-san!" he declared, his eyes filling with happy tears. "Then we will begin when you are ready!"

You gave him a winning smile. "I'm ready," you replied, shifting into a fighting stance. Lee wiped his eyes and held out his arm in a strange manner that you had never seen before. What kind of ninjutu was this? Was it a hand seal? You glanced at him, confused.

"What are you doing?" you asked uncertainly.

Lee blinked. "Surely it must be obvious. It is hand-to-hand combat – taijutsu."

"Interesting…" you mumbled. How were you supposed to know that Lee was a taijutsu expert? You weren't exactly good at these kinds of techniques, regardless of your shadow clone-evoked abilities. Iruka-sensei never taught extensive taijutsu at the Academy, and you had never bothered to take the supplementary courses to perfect your skills.

"I am sorry, [Name]-san," he said regretfully, reading your expression. "I have no talent in ninjutsu or genjutsu, but I will prove it to the whole world that I will become a splendid shinobi only using taijutsu!"

"Oh, that's great though!" you said, shocked at his declaration. Had the Naruto anime ever mentioned this…ah, _condition_ of Lee's? You racked your brains, to no avail. "Well, training with you, I'll be able to get some practise. I'm not very good at taijutsu, you see."

Lee immediately brightened. "That is great, [Name]-san! I would like that very much indeed!"

"So would I," you agreed warmly. He immediately began to prattle on about certain taijutsu techniques, all the while jumping about restlessly, as if he couldn't wait to demonstrate properly.

"You need to focus on your breathing, [Name]-san," he said at last, when you tried to perform a poorly executed kick.

"I'm no good at this," you sighed, realizing just how much Lee would need to train every day to perfect his taijutsu. You much preferred ninjutsu over this gruelling training.

"Nonsense," Lee declared. "If you train, you will improve, I promise!" He gave you the thumbs up and smiled encouragingly. His enthusiasm was contagious, and soon you decided to continue, despite your misgivings about your lack of skill.

"That is much better," he said after a while, panting. "Shift your posture a bit and loosen up, yes…like that. Now try again!"

You flew at him, your hand extended, but Lee knocked you aside easily. You tried again, using gravity to your advantage, but you were still easily beaten.

"Lee, you're amazing!" you exclaimed, your eyes shining with admiration. He blushed and looked at the floor.

"Gai-sensei is an amazing teacher," he muttered, still blushing.

"Thanks for training with me," you thanked him sincerely, causing his face to redden even more.

"You are welcome, [Name]-san!"

-:-

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"You have been training with [Name]?" Gai asked, looking positively delighted to find you here so early with Lee.

"Hai! We have been training since the crack of dawn, sir!" Lee exclaimed, straightening up.

"Yes! This is what youth is all about! I'm so proud of you!" Gai cried, his eyes overflowing with tears.

"Oh, Gai-sensei!"

"Oh, Lee!"

Neji, who had arrived, looked like he was resisting the impulse to roll his eyes. He, along with you and Tenten waited for Gai to finish his tearful greeting with his favourite student in silence.

"So, [Name]," Gai said, clearing his throat awkwardly. "How would you like to show me your skills, and then we'll be able to understand how to train you."

You gulped. You only had basic Academy E-ranked techniques, nothing more…nothing less. Did Gai-sensei really think you knew anything special?

"Let's set you up with a one-on-one battle with Neji," Gai suggested. Lee and Tenten turned to look at their sensei with incredulous expressions on their faces.

"But sensei," Tenten protested. "Are you sure…?"

Gai was unwavering. "Naturally, you would want to test your skills against the Hyuuga genius. That is why you chose this team, is that right?"

"I…" you mumbled, looking away. Neji's talents…all you knew was that he had the, what was it called again? Byakugan. But everything else was a mystery to you, which was strange. You could have sworn the episodes you watched had elaborated more on Neji's skills. By the way Tenten and Lee were looking at you, you had a bad feeling about this match.

"So it's settled," Gai said jubilantly. "Neji, come here."

He stood up and walked over in silence to the clearing in the thick trees, motioning to you to follow. You glanced back at Tenten and Lee apprehensively, and they gave you encouraging smiles that didn't match the rest of their expression.

Neji stood a ways away, looking as stoic as ever. He looked almost bored by the prospect, and you couldn't blame him.

"So…we start?" you asked. He nodded, but made no move to attack. What was he waiting for? For you to make the first move?

_If you stay put and wait for Neji to attack first, go to_ _**Chapter 35.** _

_If you pull out your shuriken and throw them at him, go to_ _**Chapter 36.** _


	27. The Weapons Specialist

"Sorry, Lee…but I'm feeling a bit tired right now. I guess I'm just not a morning person." You laughed as you tried to stifle the yawn that threatened to escape your throat.

"No problem!" Lee said, smiling. He went off to train by himself while you watched, mesmerised by his remarkable speed and agility. You never knew he was so fast, and you wondered why you didn't. Could it be that the anime never mentioned it? You honestly doubted they would skim over such a detail. Soon, a bleary-eyed Tenten arrived at the training grounds.

"Hey Tenten," you greeted her.

"Hello there, [Name]," she responded, stretching out on the long-bladed grass to wait for Neji and Gai-sensei. You sat down next to her.

"How does Gai-sensei usually train you guys?" you asked her curiously.

She shrugged. "Just about everything. He usually goes for improving your strengths, and pits each of us against each other to spar. And Lee always insists on sparring with Neji."

"Oh, he does?" you asked, your mind whirling.

Tenten gave you a small smile. "Now that you're here though, it'd be much easier to spar one-on-one."

"I guess so," you replied, wondering what she meant. Adding you to their team made five, didn't it? So now the numbers were uneven.

Eventually, Neji and Gai made their appearance.

"Gai-sensei, you're here!" Lee rejoiced, running over to his sensei.

"Hello, Lee!" Gai boomed, glancing over at you and Tenten sprawled on the ground below. "[Name], are you ready to do some training?"

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" you nodded, and he looked pleased at your response.

"Very good, [Name]. We'll start with a bit of one-on-one training. You'll be paired with Tenten, as I'm sure Lee will want to fight Neji."

"See, what did I tell you?" Tenten teased, getting to her feet.

"Sounds…good," you mumbled, staring wide-eyed at her as she began to remove various scrolls and lethal-looking weapons from hidden pockets.

"Um…what are you doing?" you asked nervously, eying the sharp, shiny objects with apprehension. "You're not going to _use_ those things are you?"

She gave you a wicked grin. "Why not? Are you scared?"

"Of course!" you protested. "And what are those scrolls for? Fuinjutsu?"

Her grin widened. "That's for you to see. Come on! Let's spar."

You closed your eyes momentarily, running through the meagre list of jutsu you possessed, feeling as if you had lost the battle already. No doubt the rest of your teammates would see you as weak, Neji specifically. After all, what good would E-ranked Academy techniques do against this weapon-wielding kunoichi? Come to think if it, you didn't really know what Tenten was capable of. How odd. You could have sworn you did a while ago.

You alighted in front of her, standing several metres apart. She blinked at you and you nodded, indicating that you were ready to go.

Tenten flipped a scroll in her fingers and rolled it gracefully open while you backed away slightly, wary of what she was about to do. She summoned a giant fuma shuriken and dropped her scroll to the ground. Then she launched it expertly in your direction.

You dipped your hand into your weapon pouch as she was preparing her first attack. Your fingers moved lightly over the kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, wire strings, and smoke bombs. When Tenten tossed the shuriken –

_You are certain it's a diversion. You immediately pull out your wire strings. Go to_ _**Chapter 37.** _

_You take out a few kunai and attach explosive tags to them. That should be enough to distract her for a bit while you think up a strategy. Go to_ _**Chapter 38.** _

_You throw two smoke bombs at her and head for the forest. Go to_ _**Chapter 39.** _


	28. Strategem

"Shikamaru," you decided, hoping the genius would be willing to part with his lazy ways for at least the duration of the mission.

"Troublesome…" he sighed.

You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye. "If you want, you could always go with Ino."

"You're less troublesome," he admitted, sighing. "Let's get this over with…"

"Yeah, all right," you agreed amiably.

Ino gazed at Asuma pitifully, trying to spark his sympathy by giving him desperate, puppy dog eyes. "Sensei, why couldn't you have just paired me up with [Name]? I'm sure we would do loads better, and at least two of your students would pass."

He smiled, not swayed in the least. "That's the point. When we assign missions and teams, we need to distribute skills as evenly as we are able. And you'll be surprised. Chouji and Shikamaru aren't as useless as you seem to think they are."

"Bah, whatever," Ino grumbled in annoyance, dropping her pretences. "C'mon Chouji, let's go."

She half-dragged him into their section of the forest, Chouji complaining loudly all the way until they disappeared into the trees.

Shikamaru looked at you apprehensively. "You're not going to do something like that, right?"

"No, what makes you think so?" you asked, amused.

He shrugged. "I don't know. You're not like that, but it's hard to tell with women. It's such a pain, really."

"I see." You contemplated for a moment, then grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him the other way.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru spluttered, frantically digging his heels into the forest floor as Asuma gave a hearty chuckle.

"Being troublesome," you responded mischievously, still dragging him alongside you. Shikamaru groaned and covered his face with his free hand.

"Okay, so what's our strategy?" you asked jokingly, only half-expecting him to answer. You released his arm, but he was still silent, so you turned to look at him.

"Um, what are you doing?" your curious eyes flickering over to where he was.

Shikamaru was squatting on the floor, his hand forming an unrecognizable seal where his fingertips touched, closing off a distinct, circular shape. He ignored your question, continuing to crouch there in the same position for another minute or so. Finally, he got to his feet and opened his eyes.

"Can I see the map?"

You handed it to over and he took it wordlessly.

"So what was that you were doing?" you asked. "A hand seal?"

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, but he looked more concerned than suspicious. "[Name], you've been hanging around me long enough to be able to recognize _that_. It's how I think."

"Really?" Bewildered, you could only stare as he nodded sheepishly. "How could I forget?"

"Exactly, how could you forget?" he asked in mock hurt before sobering up and reverting to a more serious tone. He pointed to the 'x' marking where the knife was in your section. "It isn't Asuma's style, making this mission this easy. He's either expecting us to come across troublesome snags along the way, or he's counting on conflict between us and Ino and Chouji. Either way, this mission isn't as easy as it looks."

"Got it," you said, saluting. He rolled his eyes.

"So we have a couple of options," Shikamaru continued, yawning. "The first, we somehow find our knife without getting into too much trouble, and then steal theirs. Next, we could voluntarily give up –"

"Like that'd happen," you interrupted.

"Shush, you," he said irritably. "As I was saying, we could give up our knife willingly to Ino and Chouji, which would be a noble act of chivalry."

"But not the act of a ninja," you argued. "'A shinobi must always put their mission first' and this _is_ a mission after all."

"True." Shikamaru folded his arms over his chest thoughtfully, his eyes glazed over.

"Or we convince the other team to work together with us," you suggested. "As Asuma-sensei never really specified that one team must end up with both knives. He merely told us that we must collect both to pass. So if we combine our efforts and retrieve the knives among the four of us–"

His eyes widened. "– then we'd all pass. That was what Asuma wanted us to realize all along! [Name], you're pretty darn smart…for a girl," he added shrewdly, his lips twitching in amusement.

You smacked him good-naturedly. "And you have a pretty good sense of humour…for a lazy lump." He let the comment slide and you continued after a short pause. "Though, unless sensei wants us to look underneath the underneath, which is to say, the purpose of this mission is for us _not_ to fall into the trick of working together."

Shikamaru scowled. "My brain hurts just thinking about this, can we just stick with the first plan? At least it made some sense."

"No? Okay, but it's in your nature to plan at least ten moves ahead of time, right? What if Ino and Chouji don't agree to work with us?" you asked.

He gave you a devilish grin. "Oh, don't worry about that, troublesome woman. I've got it covered." He held up a bag of chips, looking very proud of himself. "Blackmail."

He really had thought of everything.

-:-

"Can't you take this mission serious, Chouji?" Ino wailed, stomping her feet. "All you ever think about is _food._ At this rate, we'll never successfully complete this mission!"

"Hadn't you thought about how Shikamaru is going to fare in this situation?" Chouji asked with his mouth full. "Most likely he'll just give up and drive [Name] crazy."

Ino laughed humourlessly and flipped her bangs out of her eyes. At this rate, they would never pass this test. "But how about us, huh?"

He pointed at the 'x' located on the map. "We'll be able to find it, no problem."

"And the other one?" Ino asked sarcastically.

Chouji shrugged and went back to munching thoughtfully on his chips. He hadn't really given much thought to how he was going to get the second knife, especially if Shikamaru and [Name] had gotten their hands on it first. He didn't feel like fighting his best friend if it came down to that. "I suppose we could peek at their map somehow and locate where their map is before they find it," he mumbled.

"Good idea," Ino said, straightening up wearily. "Let's go."

"Hey, hold on!"

Ino and Chouji swivelled around just in time to see you and Shikamaru emerging into the clearing. Ino stiffened, but on the inside, she was immensely relieved.

"Hey Shikamaru, [Name]," Chouji called good-naturedly, looking at Ino to gauge her reaction. He wondered if she was going to go with the original plan.

"Hey, what's up?" Shikamaru asked casually. Ino's eyes narrowed, flickering over the hand behind his back and his semi-aggressive stance. She snuck a peek at you, whose hands were empty of weapons, map, knife, or otherwise. _What a strange ambush…then again, Shikamaru and [Name] never exactly come up with the most normal ideas,_ Ino thought to herself.

"So guys, we were wondering –" you began, but Shikmaru cut you off and held out a trench knife. Ino's eyes widened.

"We have ours, and we're not looking to take yours by force. We would if we had to, but I have another suggestion, a much more agreeable one for both of us," he said, twirling the knife idly between his fingers.

"What do you want?" Ino asked. "Don't bother prolonging it any more than it should. I'm not in the mood to listen to you ramble."

"Aw man, I had a whole speech prepared," Shikamaru grumbled. "This is such a drag. Fine, I'll keep it short. [Name] and I propose that our teams work together."

"Good idea!" Chouji said instantly. "I'm in."

" _I'm_ the team leader, and _I_ make the decisions," Ino fumed. "Fine, I agree. We'll work together. But what does it entail, exactly?"

Shikamaru looked thoroughly annoyed. "Really guys, you should at least put up more of a fight or something. I had my all arguments and tactics organized too." He held out the chips to Chouji, who took it gleefully. "So all this planning was for nothing. Oh man, this mission is such a drag."

You frowned at him. "You wanted to get this over with quickly, didn't you? So let's get this over with."

Ino held up her map, blushing slightly. "We didn't actually start looking for it yet, but it's supposed to be around here somewhere."

You examined it carefully. "Yeah, looks like it."

"C'mon, let's go find that knife," Shikamaru muttered resignedly.

"Maybe we should let Ino and Chouji retrieve it themselves, to prove that we're not trying to double-cross them or anything," you suggested.

"Sure, sure," he said agreeably, already sprawled out on the ground. "Wake me when you guys get it, I'm done with this troublesome business."

-:-

"I see," Asuma's voice was soft, and he sounded disappointed. "But that wasn't the point of this examination, do you understand? I specifically told you to gather _both_ knives, but this – this teamwork you've got here doesn't quite fulfill that requirement."

"But sensei," you interrupted, crestfallen. "You did tell us that all four of us could potentially pass. How can all of us possibly pass _without_ working together?"

He shrugged. "That was for you to discover on your own."

"Which we did," Ino retorted hotly, tear tracks still glistening on her cheeks. Of the entire team, she took the failure announcement the hardest. Then again, she might've been faking it – you couldn't tell with Ino.

Asuma sighed and sat down on the bench, puffing on his cigarette. "I won't give you another chance, even if you insist on it. But remember in the future, a shinobi must always put their mission first. This time –"

That was it! "Asuma-sensei," you interrupted. "That was exactly what we were doing. Even if it meant trusting the enemy, what we did was the only way to complete the mission successfully."

"Yeah, that's right!" Ino chimed, wiping her eyes with her arm warmers. "Chouji and I knew we'd never stand a chance if we didn't work together. It wasn't _just_ to allow all of us to pass, it was the only possible way!"

"'A ninja must see through deception,'" Shikamaru quoted, throwing you a meaningful glance. "We needed to look underneath the underneath. You wanted us to work together all along."

"Besides, we weren't enemy shinobi," Chouji added, nodding his head vigorously. "We're comrades, and that's what comrades are for. To help each other out."

Asuma gazed your matching determined expressions, his lips locked tightly together. You held your breath, waiting for his verdict. Finally, his lips curved upwards in a tight smile. "This is precisely the response I was looking for."

The four of you exhaled, and Ino closed her eyes in relief.

"So, can we… _please_ have another chance, sensei?" she pleaded, looking at him with wide, azure eyes.

"I already told you," he said firmly. "You will not be given another chance…"

Tears welled up in Ino's eyes again, confirming your suspicions that they were probably fake.

Asuma's smile widened. "…because there is no need to give you one. Defending your teamwork…your undisputable unanimity… _that_ is the true purpose that lies behind this mission. You needed to realize that you were a team, and act accordingly. Which you have demonstrated nicely. Well done."

Ino was teary-eyed again as she gaped at your sensei. "So…we pass?"

Asuma nodded. "Congratulations, you're the third and final genin team to make it to rookie status."

"That's great!" Ino cheered triumphantly, glancing at the rest of her teammates and annoyed that none of you looked remotely thrilled at the news. "What, guys?"

"I'm just in shock, that's all," you muttered, forcing a smile on your face. Ino looked satisfied and turned to Chouji.

"I'm happy too," he replied, gulping visibly. He forced a strained smile on his face as well when Ino glared at his sullen expression.

"Shikamaru?" she said threateningly.

"…"

Ino growled under her breath and you grinned, despite yourself. "Loosen up, Ino. We passed the mission, and that's all that matters right now, right?" Then you froze, feeling suddenly drained of all your energy for no apparent reason. What…was going on?

 _Read_ _**[Chapter 23, ](../2145138) ** _ _then return to this page._

"Name!" Shikamaru yelped, prodding you in the shoulder.

"That's not going to work," Ino said crossly, pushing him aside. "Someone get a bucket of water!"

Your eyes fluttered open. "N-no, I'm fine," you said weakly. "I don't feel like getting water dumped on my head, thanks."

Ino sighed in obvious relief. "Good, are you okay? You just randomly passed out."

"I'm fine. I just feel tired, for no reason," you admitted, flushing. "I didn't even use any jutsu…that's odd. But I'm good now."

Asuma spared you a concerned glance, then said, "The rest of the day is yours to rest up, or train, whatever tickles your fancy. We'll start doing missions tomorrow."

Team 10 nodded in synchronization and proceeded to disperse. You immediately headed home, feeling energized. From the dango shop, there were two possible routes. One was faster, and the other took at least twice as long. But you weren't exactly in a hurry, and could afford some sightseeing if you wish.

 _If you decide to take the shorter route, go to_ _**Chapter 40.** _

_If you decide to take the longer route, go to_ _**Chapter 41.** _


	29. White Flag

"Chouji," you decided, grinning. Chouji looked startled but pleased at your choice and followed you into your section of the woods. Your eyes swept over the half of the map in your hands, finding the 'x' with relative ease.

"This is where we need to go," you said, pointing. Chouji glanced at the mark and nodded.

"That's not far from here," he sighed in relief. He pulled out a bag of chips and gave you a wary glance before taking a handful and crunching on them in earnest. "Want one?" he asked, after a small pause. You gave him a small smile and shook your head.

"There!" You indicated the boulder ahead, covered in springy moss and lichen. "But I can't seem to find it…Chouji, what does a trench knife look like?"

Chouji gave you a strange look. "It's Asuma-sensei main tools in battle, [Name]. He uses them as chakra blades."

"But what do they look like?" you asked again, squinting at the boulder. Up close, you couldn't find anything that looked remotely like a knife to you. "Like…the shape."

Chouji snapped a branch off a conveniently located bush and began to make scratchy lines into the dirt. When he finished, he tapped his drawing with the stick.

"Like this, sort of," he said, sounding half-embarrassed. "It's not very good, but…" he trailed off as you examined the shallow cuts in the ground.

"Hmm, so there're spiky things on the edge," you mused, your eyes wandering over the drawing. "How big are these trench knives, usually?"

Chouji gave you another strange look. "Small enough so that sensei can hold one in each hand."

"Oh!" you said, surprised. "How silly of me, I thought they were as big as swords!"

Chouji laughed and dropped his stick. Both of you wandered over to the moss-covered boulder, scrutinizing every crack and crevice at every angle.

"I don't suppose it'd be hidden underneath it, do you?" you asked apprehensively, gazing at the large rock in grudging admiration. It was at least twice as tall as you were, and several times as wide. You doubted you had the strength to lift it, even if you did tap into your chakra reserves.

"It won't hurt to try," Chouji reasoned, earning him a disbelieving look from you. "What?" he asked.

"Look at how big this thing is!" you protested, spreading your hands. "Even if we rolled it, I doubt we'll get far before we tire ourselves out."

Chouji gave you a small smile. "You're forgetting – I _am_ an Akimichi after all."

You stared at him blankly.

"My clan's main technique, the expansion jutsu," he prodded encouragingly. When no flicker of recognition sparked in your (e/c) eyes, he gave up. "Oh well, [Name]…I'll just have to do it." His clasped his hands together into a hand seal.

"What? But Chouji –" you cried disapprovingly.

He just gave you a reassuring smile. "Baika no jutsu!"

You watched in stunned silence as Chouji's body expanded several times its original size. "Whoa…" you breathed.

"Human boulder…!" he exclaimed, launching himself directly at the other boulder and shattering it in the collision that followed. You gazed in awe at the demonstration of sheer strength. The boulder that had once been menacingly massive was now reduced to a pile of rubble coated in a light layer of fresh dust. You glanced at Chouji, worried that the impact might've hurt him, but he just grinned at you.

"That was fantastic!" you called, your eyes sparkling in admiration. His grin widened, and a light blush formed on his cheeks as he held out an object that looked remarkably like the drawing on the ground in front of your feet.

"So that's a trench knife," you murmured, looking at the wickedly sharp blade with a flash of recognition. You've seen something like that before somewhere, but you couldn't place it.

"Yeah," Chouji agreed, placing it gingerly in the pocket of his haori.

"So now…" you grimaced, not really wanting to go off to fight Shikamaru and Ino to secure the remaining trench knife. It was one thing to be pitted against Academy classmates but it was quite another to have to betray childhood friends in order to complete this mission. Chouji was most likely thinking the same thing, because his eyebrows were scrunched up in a frown.

"Maybe we should just forfeit," Chouji suggested finally, sounding thoroughly miserable at the prospect.

"Good idea –" you began, but a voice issuing from above you head cut you off.

"[Name]! Chouji!"

You glanced up and saw two familiar figures perched precariously on a branch high up in a tree.

"Hey Ino!" you called, addressed the one who had spoken first. Ino and Shikmaru jumped down and landed soundlessly on the ground beside you, far too close for your liking. In the mission, they _were_ an enemy team after all. Without thinking, both you and Chouji moved into a defensive position.

"Hey now, white flag of truce guys," Shikmaru stated, sounding immensely bored. "We're just here to talk."

You tried to take a step back, but found yourself rendered unable to move your body. "What the –?!"

Chouji seemed to have found himself in the same predicament. "Shikamaru," he growled warningly.

"W-what's happening?" you asked nervously, your hands trembling in the futile effort to perform the simple operation of uncurling your fingers. Your eyes, one of the few things you could still control, darted to Shikamaru suspiciously. His hands were laced together in what you recognized to be the rat seal. So he was the one who was doing this!

"Shadow possession jutsu," Ino said smugly, relaxing now that both you and Chouji were immobilized. "You guys are way too cautious. We just want to talk."

Your gaze travelled instinctively to the ground at her words. You noticed that your shadow had darkened to an unnatural shade of black and had elongated so that it was connected to Shikamaru's. You weren't able to turn your head, but you were positive that Chouji was in the same state. Shikamaru shifted slightly, and both you and Chouji's bodies moved involuntarily to mimic his exact movements.

"Cool…" you mouthed, despite your situation.

Shikmaru crossed his arms, and so did you. "We're not looking to take your knife, at least, not yet."

"And why should we trust you?" you asked, defeated. There was no way you and Chouji could worm your way out of this one, especially in this state of immobility.

"As you've probably noticed, you're at my mercy," he replied, moving his arms up and down to prove his point. "So it doesn't really matter if we do take your knife or not, does it?" He turned to Chouji, forcing your head to turn too so that you couldn't see Shikamaru anymore. "Asuma hid our knife under this _huge_ rock." You felt your arms spread of your own accord.

"Obviously, Ino and I aren't strong enough to love the boulder on our own. So we'll need your help, Chouji."

Chouji gave you a worried glance and you smiled in encouragement.

"Absolutely," he told Shikamaru, who sighed and released the jutsu. You staggered back a few steps, propelled by the momentum of your previous attempts to fight Shikmaru's shadow possession.

"Careful," Chouji held out an arm to prevent you from falling flat on your face.

"Thanks," you murmured, grateful for the support.

"Okay, lead us to your rock, Shikamaru," Chouji requested, earning him a contemptuous glare from Ino.

"I see right through you. You have no intention of helping us at all!" she cried accusingly. "You'll break down the rock with your expansion jutsu, then run off with the knife."

"This is Chouji who you're talking about," Shikamaru reminded her. "I don't believe he will betray us like that."

"Look who's talking," Ino spat, glaring at Shikamaru with undisguised fury. "You're his friend, and you said it yourself. You'd rather have him pass than you, because you don't even care!"

"True," he admitted. "But honestly Ino, you're letting the stress get to your head. Do you really think _Chouji_ is like that?"

The fire in her eyes died down, replaced by pools of guilt. "You're right. Sorry…I wasn't thinking straight."

Shikamaru shrugged. Ino's personality was so temperamental sometimes…how troublesome. He cleared his throat and turned to Chouji. "It's not far from here. Follow me."

-:-

"Now what?" Chouji asked, watching the smoking remains of the destroyed boulder with more interest than he should. You guessed he was brooding over the having to fight with Shikamaru for the knife again.

"You know what?" Ino said unexpectedly. "Chouji, you can have it."

Three pairs of disbelieving eyes turned to look at her.

"Are you Ino?" Shikamaru asked warily.

"After you worked so hard to get here?" you objected. You didn't want to fail, but neither did you want to see your friend get sent back to the Academy on your account.

"You're definitely not Ino," Shikamaru decided, eying her critically. "For one, your bang is on the wrong side."

"Shut up!" Ino said angrily, getting to her feet. "What's wrong with you? My hair's always been like that."

"It was just to test you," he said breezily, unfazed. "So you are Ino. What did Asuma-sensei do to you, huh?"

"He didn't do anything –" she began.

"Shikamaru's right," you cut her off. "This isn't like you. You're usually much more competitive. You're not one to give up. That's Shikamaru's job."

Ino sighed and flipped her hair. "It's not that I _want_ to give up, you know? But we really don't have much of a choice. As I said, at least two of us should pass. I'm not that heartless – sometimes I need to make sacrifices too."

You gave a tense laugh. "But why give up? At least try to engage in conflict or something, and show Asuma-sensei what we're capable of."

"That's the thing," she said, sounding annoyed. "Look at you guys, it's pathetic. It's clear none of you want to fight each other, just look at Shikamaru and Chouji's expressions! And look at you." She pulled out a kunai and tossed it at you, who caught it reflexively. "Let's say I decide that we fight to the death, here and now. You up for it?"

You gulped and she nodded, satisfied.

"See? That's what I meant."

"So this test," Chouji said miserably. "it's meant to break our will?"

Ino gave a harsh bark of laughter, causing you to jump. "Exactly."

You extended your kunai, the sharp point facing towards her. "And what if I _am_ up to it?"

Ino eyed the blade apprehensively, her blue eyes filled with incredulity. "You wouldn't…"

You shook your head regretfully. "No, probably not." Your fingers rummaged through your pouch and came up with a length of wire strings. "Sorry, Chouji…"

You flung the wires at Chouji's pockets and twirled them in your fingertips, effectively ensnaring the trench knife with your makeshift knot. Before he could stop you, you yanked on the wire and the knife flew out of his pockets. You caught it and handed it to Ino, who looked stupefied.

"You have to collect both knives to pass. Take it," you commanded.

Ino didn't move. "But [Name]…what good does this do? Even if you don't care about passing, what about Chouji?"

"Just take it. It's for you and Chouji," you said. "Shikamaru doesn't care about passing either. You said it yourself – at least two of us should pass. And if anyone, it's you and Chouji who deserve it."

"But –"

"If anyone should be complaining," you teased half-heartedly. "It's Shikamaru."

Ino still didn't take it, so you gave her an exasperated frown.

"It isn't that bad of an idea," Shikamaru put in, scratching his nose thoughtfully. "The only person that has anything to lose is [Name], but what's the worst case scenario? She'll be sent back to the Academy, so what? She'll just pass again anyways, be put on another genin team. As for me, I'll probably stick to watching clouds…it's much easier than this troublesome shinobi business."

You shoved the knife into Ino's unwilling hands. "There. Asuma-sensei will probably be here any minute."

"As a matter of fact, I'm already here," Asuma said, emerging from the shadows. "You guys have an…interesting strategy I'll admit."

The team stayed silent, and there was a heavy pause.

"Technically," Asuma continued. "All four of you have united the two knives, which in a way, is what you were supposed to do to pass. However, a main component of this training exercise is the conflict." He gave everyone a wry smile. "And you could argue that verbal conflict is much more…conflicting. I suppose I could pass all four of you, if you'd like."

His eyes flickered over to you and Shikamaru, amused. "Unless of course, if you two would rather not pass. I seem to be under the impression that you two didn't want to."

"No, we do!" you and Shikamaru said at the same time.

"Very good, then," Asuma nodded and took another drag on his cigarette. "You pass. All four of you."

You were about to thank him when your knees suddenly felt weak and your eyes strangely heavy.

"[Name]?"

 _Read_ _**[Chapter 23, ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2145138) ** _ _then return to this page._

"[Name!]"

Your opened your eyes and found yourself gazing into the concerned faces of your teammates and sensei. Their worry brought a smile to your face.

"I'm fine," you assured them, standing up. "Sorry sensei, what were you saying again?"

Asuma looked taken aback by your sudden recovery. You had collapsed to the ground for no reason, and were now completely fine? He guessed it had something to do with the lack of food and resolved to make sure his team was well-fed before the next mission.

"Now, we'll be beginning D-ranked missions soon. Meet me at Yakiniku Q…and there's no need to bring any ninja gear. You won't be needing them."

"No ninja gear?" Ino grumbled as Asuma vanished without saying a proper goodbye. "What's up with that?"

You shrugged. "I'd still bring some, just in case. You never know what would happen on a mission."

"Right," Shikamaru muttered. "Like we'd need kunai to baby-sit kids."

"Babysitting?!" you spluttered, whirling around to look at his amused expression.

"Yeah, D-ranked missions are such a drag," he replied promptly.

"Great," you muttered, sighing. You should have known that genin never get the interesting, combat-type missions. "All right, see you guys. I'm going home."

You waved to your teammates who all headed in the opposite direction before setting off for your house. At least missions could earn you some money, no matter how boring they were, you reasoned to yourself. Lost in thought, you didn't pay attention to where you were going until you suddenly bumped into someone.

And who might that be?

 _A powerful tokubetsu jounin! Go to_ _**Chapter 42.** _

_Konohamaru! Go to_ _**Chapter 43.** _


	30. A Joint Effort

 

You decide to ignore the person. Naruto was much more important and it frightened you to no end that you could not predict what was going to happen next. You were positive that you watched this episode – so your memory must be failing you. What rotten timing. You got up from your hiding spot and made your way into the open clearing.

"Hey, [Name]-chan!" Naruto called when he noticed you, his face brightening considerably. "Hey, I have an idea!"

"What?" you asked cautiously, wanting to avoid Kakashi's Thousand Years of Death jutsu at all costs.

"Maybe we can work together-ttebayo," he said, grinning. "Then we'll each get a bell and leave the last one for either Sakura-chan or the teme."

You could almost feel Sakura's malicious glare boring into your back and you couldn't help but grin. "Sure, that sounds like a good idea. What's the plan?"

But Naruto had stopped listening to you. He seemed to have spotted something silver glistening in the distance.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei dropped a bell!" he called, trotting over to the object with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. No way…you've seen firsthand just how powerful your sensei was without breaking a sweat. He could never have been so careless.

"Naruto, it could be a trap, be careful –"

Your warning was drowned out by a startled yelp. As Naruto's fingers reached eagerly for the bell, he was suddenly hoisted into the air upside down by a length of thick rope.

"Hey sensei, put me _down!_ "

Kakashi emerged from the dense foliage, his eyes still glued to his book. "A ninja must see through deception."

This was your chance. Your sensei was really and truly distracted for the first time since you began the bell test. You drew out a handful of shuriken as Kakashi continued lecturing Naruto, knowing that he was not paying attention to your minimal movements. You aimed for the back of Kakashi's left hand, which was protected by a metal-reinforced glove, and tossed one at the rope that bound Naruto's leg. The blade of the shuriken sliced easily through the thick filaments, embedding itself into a tree trunk. Naruto collapsed to the ground with a loud thump.

Kakashi turned just as your shuriken bounced harmlessly off the metal plates of his gloves. One sliced his book in half and the pages detached from the orange cover, scattering in the wind. A second later, a second set of unidentified shuriken lodged in his chest. You gasped, realizing that either Sasuke or Sakura had had the same idea, but with the intent to kill or maim rather than distract.

Kakashi's face was strangely blank, frozen with mild surprise as he toppled sideways in slow motion. He didn't seem to mind or notice that his book was damaged beyond repair and that there were pages clinging to his face.

"Sasuke, [Name], are you crazy!?" Naruto called weakly from his spot on the ground. "You guys went too far!"

"I aimed for his hands, which were shielded by metal," you protested, unable to believe your eyes. Did Kakashi-sensei really just let down his guard, or was it all to ruse?

Your half-fearful hopes were dashed when Kakashi promptly turned into a log before your eyes. Of course, a body replacement jutsu! You heard the rustle of branches nearby and you guessed Sasuke was on the move. Kakashi-sensei, wherever he was hiding, had now discovered the Uchiha's position.

"Sasuke-kun, wait!" you heard Sakura's plaintive cry in the distance. You barely stifled a sigh of exasperation and went over to examine Naruto, who was still lying flat on the ground.

"You okay?" you asked anxiously, hoping the fall didn't hurt him too badly.

"Yeah I'm fine, believe it!" he declared importantly, staggering to his feet. "I'm gonna be the next Hokage someday, so I'm not letting sensei beat me that easily!"

"That's the spirit." Kakashi had materialized again, reclining against a nearby tree with his intact orange book in one hand. In the other, he was twirling a kunai idly with his fingertips. "But say that _after_ you get the bell, hmm?"

"Now what?" Naruto was surprisingly composed, choosing to ignore Kakashi's remark. "I say we attack again, head on."

"But we'll lose the element of surprise," you reasoned, glancing at your sensei's motionless form with slight apprehension.

"Ah, fine," he said grudgingly, following you as you ambled into the forest to get as far away from Kakashi-sensei as possible. "What should we do now?"

"I'm not sure yet," you admitted, running through the possible tactics to get Kakashi-sensei to lower his guard. His constant vigilance was problematic; you would need to address that concern first.

"I'm hungry…" Naruto whimpered.

"Don't worry, we'll get those bells in no time!" you said, trying to sound upbeat. Your stomach growled treacherously, as if to contradict your words. You glared at the ground, fighting your hunger with thoughts of the prospect of lunch once you got a bell…

"Decoys," you finally said, when nothing else came to mind. Your stomach growled again and you grimaced. "We could, say, send a pair of shadow clones to distract Kakashi-sensei, and sneak up on him from behind…" you shrugged your shoulders helplessly, running out of inspiration.

Naruto suddenly went rigid and you stared at him in concern. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. It's a good idea…and I think we should split up."

"Split up?"

"We could cover more ground that way," he insisted.

"Okay," you agreed easily, swiftly dispatching a shadow clone to search for Kakashi. Naruto did the same, and set off in the other direction, bouncing on his toes the entire way.

You paused for a moment, then sent a second kage bunshin after the first, devising a backup strategy on the spot. You were sure Kakashi-sensei would defeat you and Naruto's clones without breaking a sweat. Hopefully, he would be fooled into thinking that the second one to approach would be the real you. By then, you hoped, Kakashi would drop his guard, even if just for an instant.

With that in mind, you focused your chakra into the soles of your feet and quickly scaled a conveniently located tree. Narrowly escaping falling to your death due to a lapse in concentration, you hurried to conceal yourself among the thick leaves, waiting. You heard a loud, high-pitched scream of terror and guessed that Kakashi had gotten to Sakura…unless Sasuke was capable of making such a sound.

-:-

Kakashi sighed and deactivated the henge no jutsu. The enthusiastic orange-clad genin vanished mid-stride, replaced by Kakashi's normal form. By the unquestioning look in your eye, he knew that you were completely fooled by his disguise. Not for one moment did you even think that the Naruto you were talking to could possibly be Kakashi. Yet, he thought in satisfaction, you were very prepared, despite your limited skills. Unlike Sasuke who he had fought and defeated earlier, you didn't have a plethora of clan-inherited techniques at your disposal. You made the best of it, however. Kakashi was impressed.

Still, your actions made him suspicious that you didn't entirely put your faith in your teammates, even if you did choose to work with Naruto. If you couldn't even trust your own friends, you were ultimately unqualified to being a shinobi. If left to fester, this attitude of yours could lead to your downfall, like it did him.

_Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash…_

The way you acted, it reminded Kakashi of himself. He balled up his fists and returned to the memorial stone where Naruto was currently tied up to. He was blowing things out of proportion. He forcefully shoved these thoughts out of his mind for the moment. He would deal with them later.

"Hey, hey sensei!" Naruto squirmed, still trying to wriggle his way out of the ropes that restrained his body. "Can you untie me now? And what did you do to [Name]-chan? She should've been here by now!"

Kakashi's eyes closed briefly. His speculations were confirmed. Of the four, Naruto showed the most promise, by genuinely caring about his friends. His visible eye drifted over the shuriken-embedded logs scattered about the clearing, and guess that all his replacement jutsu were foiled by [Name] and Naruto bunshin.

"Oh, she's trapped in a genjutsu of mine," he said brightly, feigning a smug sort of superiority. It wasn't strictly true, but he figured a lie wouldn't hurt. He immediately received the reaction that he predicted and wanted to draw out of the kid.

"Oy, what are you saying?!" Naruto asked furiously, tugging at the ropes with his teeth in his desperation.

"You heard me."

"[NAME]-CHAN!" Naruto yelled, redoubling his efforts to free himself from the bindings.

Kakashi smiled to himself, sure that you wouldn't come to his rescue. Before he could taunt Naruto further, he sensed a projectile approaching and dropped to the ground instinctively. The kunai whizzed past his head and implanted itself harmlessly into the ground. Kakashi's gaze flickered upwards and he spotted you crouching on a branch several metres above his head. In your hands was a wire strung with a dozen kunai which you hurled towards him as he lifted his head.

_Impressive,_ he thought. He had miscalculated; you were less like his old self than he originally assumed. No matter, you would still sacrifice Naruto in the end. Pairing up with a deadlast like him was only for mere convenience, he was sure of it. Kakashi dodged the kunai easily, and as you tugged the wire strings back to launch a second attack, he pinched one of your kunai between his fingers and seized it in a vicelike grip.

You gave a startled gasp and the wires slipped from your fingers. All of your kunai clattered harmlessly to the ground around Kakashi-sensei's feet. Your eyes flickered to Naruto's bound form again, worry clouding your thoughts.

"Naruto, are you all right?"

He grinned sheepishly and attempted a small wave. "Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about me, [Name]-chan."

"Can you move your hands at all?" you pulled out your last kunai as Naruto gave you a thumbs-up. "Here, catch!"

Kakashi smiled under his mask and intercepted the kunai in midair with one of yours that he picked up from the ground. You blinked, then mentally reprimanded yourself for not considering the jounin's raw speed and quick reflexes. Your (e/c) eyes shifted to where Naruto was still pinned to the memorial stone, trying to think up a strategy.

Kakashi flicked the bells with his fingers, diverting your attention to the silver objects for a moment. He then cocked his head attentively, as if he heard something in the distance. In the instant he was distracted, you decided to make your move. Would you have a chance to seize the bells on your own, or was saving Naruto more important to you?

_Naruto was in no immediate danger. This was_ _the bell test after all, so you go for the bells. Go to_ _ **Chapter 44.**_

_Naruto was more important. Besides, you were friends, and friends don't leave each other behind. Go to_ _**Chapter 45.** _

 


	31. Density

You closed your eyes, hoping with all your might that it wasn't Kakashi-sensei. Then you turned slightly and found yourself face-to-face with none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

"Huh?" you asked, too surprised to give him a proper greeting. "What do you want?"

His eye twitched and he pursed his lips. "We would both do…better if we…worked together," he managed through his gritted teeth, spitting out each word as if the effort was killing him. It seemed a severe blow on his pride to stoop so low as teaming up with a _girl._ You almost laughed out loud.

"Excuse me?" you raised your eyebrows incredulously. He gave you a scathing glare.

"You heard me the first time. Don't make me repeat myself."

You pondered his offer. "But why me?"

Sasuke's jaw dropped. "What do you think? Do I look stupid enough to work with a dead-last like Naruto?" He gestured to the clearing, where the said dead-last was currently dangling upside down by his leg.

"Sakura?" you persisted.

He scowled. "Seriously, [Name]. You are so dense sometimes."

A singsong voice suddenly called out, effectively cutting off the retort bubbling to your lips. "Oh Sasuke-kun…I found you!" Sakura climbed carefully over a tree branch and hopped down beside you. Her green eyes flickered over Sasuke and you uncertainly.

"Hey, [Name]," she greeted, suspicion leaking into her cheery tone.

Before you could return her greeting, Sasuke interrupted. "Don't try to change the subject [Name]. What do you say?"

_If you agree to work with Sasuke, go to_ _**Chapter 46.** _

_If you agree, but suggest to include Sakura, go to_ _**Chapter 47.** _

_If you refuse and go find Naruto instead, go to_ _**Chapter 48.** _

 


	32. Perpendicular

You stiffened at the contact, you ninja instincts kicking in. In a flash, you had executed the body replacement jutsu and leapt straight up into the air. Concealing yourself within the dense foliage of a nearby tree, you peered through the gap between the leaves, trying to catch a glimpse of the person that had poked you. You recognized the black hair and the prominent Uchiha crest set against dark blue fabric, and you gasped.

"…Sasuke?" you whispered, hardly daring to believe your eyes. His dark eyes snapped up at the sound of your voice and you noticed that his cheeks were slightly pink. Whoa, since when did the Uchiha blush?!

"You're jumpy," he remarked, gazing up at you.

You shrugged. "I thought you were Kakashi-sensei."

"And I clearly am not," he replied, looking disgruntled. "Why don't you come down here?"

You eyed him suspiciously and stayed put.

"What?" he demanded.

"You still could potentially be Kakashi-sensei," you reasoned. He shot you a dirty glare. "I have to be careful, you know. You could have easily henged into Sasuke, to trick me."

It was his turn to shrug. "Oh well, your loss."

"What do you mean?" you called down.

"I was planning to ask you if you wanted to plan an attack strategy with me, but forget it."

"What?! What happened to working solo?"

A small smile played over Sasuke's lips as you digested his words. "So?"

You tore a small piece off of a branch of the tree you were perched on and lobbed it experimentally at Sasuke's head. If it was indeed Kakashi using henge no jutsu, this simple test would do the trick. He looked up, and the twig hit him squarely in the eye.

"Hey!" he yelped, vanishing in a puff of smoke, replaced by a very irritated looking Kakashi.

"S-sorry Kakashi-sensei!" you cried, waving your arms in front of you protectively, hoping he wouldn't disintegrate you on the spot. "I just had to check…"

Kakashi rubbed his visible eye exasperatedly, wishing the twig had hit the other one instead. "I'm not saying it was a bad idea, [Name]. It was just…unexpected, that's all. Next time try not to aim for the eye, ne?"

You nodded, too stunned to say anything as he carefully picked his way out of the bush. He paused.

"And [Name]?"

"Yeah?" you asked warily, wondering if he was going to reprimand you.

"Sasuke actually does want to work with you, don't make it so hard for him like you just demonstrated to me. It's remarkable that he's even considering teamwork, bear that in mind."

You gaped at his retreating back, wondering if your sensei had gone completely insane. Sasuke…and teamwork? Back at the Academy all he cared about was working alone, resulting in horrid marks when assessed on his ability to cooperate with other students. According to your shadow clone memories, you had worked with him a couple times, and it had been a nightmare.

No doubt Kakashi was just playing with you, trying to get you to lower your guard.

"Right, like that's going to happen," you muttered to yourself, wrenching a kunai out of your pouch and preparing to defend yourself if your sensei decided to make another uninvited appearance. Now how to get those bells? You closed your eyes, thinking. Would a direct assault, like Naruto's futile attempts work better? Or should you keep staying in the shadows? And how about Sasuke…if what Kakashi-sensei claimed was true, it would be good to have an ally. It would double your success rate, or at the very least, increase it. You had nothing to lose, after all. With those thoughts racing through your head, you opened your eyes, settling on what you believed was the best option.

_If you go and directly challenge Kakashi in the open, go to_ _**Chapter 49.** _

_If you remain where you are, thinking of a plan, go to_ _**Chapter 50.** _

_If you believe Kakashi's words and go search for Sasuke, go to_ _**Chapter 51.** _


	33. Mission Accomplished

When the four of you reached the top of your respective trees, Akamaru whined softly.

"What is it, buddy?" Kiba asked, his forehead creasing slightly. Then he raised his voice to address the entire team. "Akamaru says we should be careful when untying the shuriken from the tree branch. He smells traps."

"Got it," you said, grateful for Akamaru's sharp nose.

You held out a kunai at arm's length, extending it towards the shuriken tied to your tree. Then you swiftly cut through the rope and caught the shuriken safely between your fingers.

"No traps on this one," you called, looking over at Hinata. She had also retrieved her shuriken, but had a nasty cut on her arm.

"M-my shuriken was attached to a smoke bomb," she explained, coughing. "I couldn't see what I was doing."

It seemed as though Kiba and Shino had claimed their shuriken as well. You waited, wondering when Kurenai-sensei was going to make her appearance. At that moment, she materialized on the tip of Kiba's tree.

"Very well done," she congratulated you and the rest of your team. "You handled the elements of this exercise well, demonstrating the ability to work as a team and have trust in each other. You have also successfully completed this mission within the time frame I have set for you, and each of your mastery of chakra control is better than I had initially hoped."

You glowed at the praise. Without warning, you suddenly experienced a splitting headache. Your hand moved to your temples and your eyes closed.

_Read_ _**[Chapter 23,](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2145138) ** _ _then return to this page._

"[Name]!" Kiba cried, roughly shaking you awake by the shoulders. You opened your eyes groggily, and they focused on Kiba's wide, vertical pupils.

"How long have I been out?" you asked, confused.

"N-not long," Hinata said comfortingly, looking worried. "You passed out just now."

"That's a relief," you sighed. Kiba let go of your shoulders and you straightened up, grateful for his support.

"We all passed," Shino told you solemnly.

Kurenai crossed her arms. "But your career as ninjas, it's only going to get harder from here."

"We've heard that one before," Kiba remarked dryly. "What are we going to do now? More training?"

Kurenai tilted her head. "Not exactly. I'll be giving you each one week to rest up, and we'll start your first real mission as genin then."

"One _week?!_ " Kiba objected, looking flabbergasted. "Why? I won't be able to wait that long!"

"Because during that time, I want you each to work on honing your skills. We'll be embarking on a C-ranked mission, so it is essential for each of you to train well and work hard."

"Got it," said Kiba, nodding to Akamaru. "Sounds like a perfect opportunity to get some training done with you. Mom's been pestering us for ages." Akamaru barked in agreement.

Kurenai turned to you, and her expression softened slightly. "[Name]. The rest of your team come from powerful clans with distinctive fighting styles and characteristic techniques. But as for you…"

You blushed. "Yes?"

"I'll set you up to train with some available and capable teachers. Though it does depend where your talents and what your interests are. Just because you don't have a kekkei genkai or clan-specific skills doesn't mean you'll be left out. So tell me, is there any jutsu you are you keen on learning?"

_Genjutsu! Go to_ _**Chapter 52.** _

_Kenjutsu! Go to_ _**Chapter 53.** _

_Elemental ninjutsu! Go to_ _**Chapter 54.** _


	34. Four Kunai, Four Shuriken

 

"Hinata!" you yelled, echoing Kiba's cry. Without thinking about the consequential effects of your actions, you pushed Hinata aside. She let out a small squeak in protest, but it was too late. The man's forceful stab missed, going through Hinata's tree instead. Shocked, you saw that the kunai went through the branch as if it were a ghost with no substance. You examined the undamaged wood, stupefied.

Hinata gave a startled yelp and one of her feet slipped, severing her chakra flow and interrupting her concentration. She fell off the tree, and every one else, being tied to her by ropes, went down with her. Your team collapsed to the ground with a resounding crash, toppling onto one another.

"S-sorry!" Hinata gasped, looking mortified.

"It's not your fault, Hinata," you said miserably. "It was me, I shouldn't have knocked you over. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Kiba interrupted. His eyes were blazing with determination. "We're getting those shuriken no matter what, and no matter how many times we fall down, we'll just climb back up, right guys?"

You blinked gratefully at him and quickly formed half the ram hand seal, ready to try again.

-:-

When you were halfway up the tree, a kunai whizzed by and impaled itself merely inches above Kiba's head.

"Is that a genjutsu?" he asked uneasily, glancing at the very real looking hole it made in the wood.

"No," said Shino, his voice stiff. Hinata turned to look at him, her eyes widening in fear.

"Kurenai-sensei is using real weapons on us too?" you asked, your voice an octave higher than usual. You cleared your throat, and gave an involuntary gasp when another kunai flew at you and embedded itself uncomfortably close to your ear.

"She might be trying to intimidate us," Kiba said hopefully, but he didn't look convinced. "But she won't actually hurt us, right?"

A third kunai came flying towards your team, and this time, it hit its target.

Hinata gave a small moan of pain when the knife tore into the flesh of her forearm. Her pale lavender eyes became as round as saucers and she tugged the kunai out of her arm, as if she couldn't quite understand what she was seeing.

_Would Kurenai-sensei really…?!_

Kurenai suddenly materialized on a branch of your tree, looking extremely troubled.

"Sensei…!" you and Kiba cried at the same time, relieved.

"Something's wrong. We seem to be under attack…I'm calling off this mission temporarily." She yanked the kunai above Kiba's head out of the wood and slashed at the ropes that bound all four of you. "I presume it's rogue ninja — two at the most. Get going. I may need you to get some reinforcements."

"We want to stay and help!" Kiba protested, clenching his fists. You nodded in agreement.

"No," Kurenai said firmly, but a fourth incoming kunai forced her to dodge and stop talking momentarily.

"S-sensei, please let us…" Hinata stuttered, glancing at her beseechingly. "I promise we'll be able to be of some use."

Kurenai looked conflicted for a moment. She then looked ready to refuse, but the rogue ninja finally made their appearance, leaving her no choice.

"Fine," she said brusquely, jumping down the tree to meet the two rogues and gesturing for you and the rest of the team to follow her lead.

"Yahoo…!" Kiba said jubilantly, ricocheting off his tree with Akamaru clinging to his shoulder for dear life. You, Shino, and Hinata also jumped off your respective tree trunks and stood a little behind your sensei, facing the two potentially dangerous shinobi before you. You gasped.

Those black robes…the distinctive scarlet cloud-patterned fabric…those bell-tasselled straw hats…

You felt as if they were important, that you should recognize them on sight. You felt as if you should know exactly who these people were and why they were here. The inability to remember was driving you crazy.

"It's been a while…Kurenai."

Your sensei stiffened when one of the rogue ninja suddenly spoke. He pushed his wide-brimmed hat up a fraction of an inch to reveal dark red eyes not unlike Kurenai-sensei's. You wondered if he was related to her in some way. No…the prominent cheekbones, the haughty expression, the well-hidden sadness behind the crimson orbs…somehow, it reminded you of Sasuke. You must be out of your mind to make this comparison. Sasuke didn't have red eyes, you scoffed at yourself, trying not to laugh out loud.

"Uchiha Itachi," Kurenai's voice was calm, but there was an almost undetectable undertone of fear. Itachi…why did that name sound so familiar…?

"Are these friends of yours, Itachi?" the second, taller man asked, turning slightly to face his comrade. Itachi lifted the rim of his hat, exposing the rest of his face. Your eyes were drawn to the deep gouge in the metal plate of his Konohagakure forehead protector. _He's a Leaf shinobi?!_

"An acquaintance from my time here in Konoha, nothing more," Itachi told the man smoothly. His penetrating gaze raked over your team and Hinata gave an involuntary shudder. "This is your genin team…Kurenai?"

Her eyes darkened. "That is none of your concern. You're a rogue ninja, a missing-nin wanted by every nation. State your business, Uchiha. We will not hesitate to annihilate you."

"Is that any way to greet an old comrade?" Itachi chided, sounding politely amused.

"Your return to the village can mean nothing good," Kurenai replied, bristling. "So tell me. Why are you here?"

"We are simply…passing by," he said thoughtfully.

"I don't believe you."

"Can we just kill them now?" the other man interrupted, sounding sickeningly enthusiastic about the prospect. The colour drained from your face and he chuckled darkly when he noticed.

"We'll just attract attention," Itachi said warningly. "That would be…imprudent." He turned back to face Kurenai. "We are leaving now, but we will be back, mark my words."

To your surprise, she nodded.

"Hey!" you blurted out without thinking. "But those kunai. How could it be just an…accident? If you were just passing by —"

"Clever," the unidentified man said with grudging admiration. "Young genin are always entertaining to use as target practise. Especially if they have…verve."

Your eyes widened in horror as his words sank in.

"You're frightening her, Kisame," Itachi reproached his comrade. The man you supposed was named Kisame lifted his hat slightly and gave you a terrifying, toothy grin. "Let's go."

Kisame reluctantly nodded in agreement. So they were leaving, just like that? When they were using Hinata as _target practise?!_ You glared at their retreating backs, feeling angrier than you had ever been in a long time.

"[Name], whatever you're thinking, don't," Kiba whispered, putting a hand on your arm. "I can sense your killer intent."

That brought you up short. You didn't realize exactly how furious you were until he said that.

_You shake him off, preparing to give Itachi and Kisame a piece of your mind! No one messed with you, not even dangerous criminals! Wait, how did you know they were criminals…? Go to_ _**Chapter 55.** _

_You're grateful he intervened. It would be irrational, if not downright suicidal to pursue the potentially dangerous missing-nin. Go to_ _**Chapter 56.** _

 


	35. Analytical

 

You decided to wait for Neji to make the first move. You were wary of his potential strength, and knew he was definitely more powerful than you were. But the question was — by how much? You wanted to examine his abilities, preferably before you got crushed half to death by whatever jutsu he was going to use. You realized that it would be wise to do a quick body replacement, just in case things got ugly.

With a quick hand seal sequence, you executed the substitution technique and hid yourself among the dense foliage, shifting the leafy branches so that your body was mostly concealed. Through the tiny gaps between the leaves, your eyes roamed over the open space, searching anxiously for the telltale signs of Neji's presence.

To your chagrin, you realized that he was looking directly at you, his lips curved upwards in an arrogant smirk.

"You know, I can still see you," he called, his quiet voice carrying easily across the empty clearing. You jolted, noticing the prominent veins around his temples, the distinctive markings in his pupil-less eyes. Interesting…so that was what his Byakugan was capable of. You dug your fingers into your pouch, feeling around for an explosive tag. Neji's eyes narrowed, and he shifted into a battle stance not unlike Lee's when he was training with you earlier.

So his specialty was taijutsu. That would mean he was a close-range combat type, but he was most likely capable, if not adept at long-range attacks as well. There was something else…something about his posture that made you suppose his form of hand-to-hand combat was something more. It was better that you didn't remember, because that would make you all the more wary of Neji's attacks until you familiarized yourself with his fighting style.

You pulled a kunai out and wrapped your tag around its handle. You could feel Neji watching your every move with his sensitive Byakugan eyes and fought to keep a straight face. It was unnerving to know that he would be able to see you clearly, regardless of distance or any amount of solid barriers you put between the two of you.

Neji still hadn't attacked, which seemed to confirm your suspicions that he specialized in close-range attacks. Maybe if you could fool him into thinking that you yourself specialized in the opposite…

You stood up so quickly that blood rushed to your head, causing you to feel dizzy. When you composed yourself, you turned on your heel and ran, leaping from tree to tree until you put a solid kilometre between yourself and Neji. He'd have no choice but to follow, or wait for you to attack. You smiled grimly, hoping he would pursue the first option.

You still had the tagged kunai in your hand, so you placed it carefully on the ground, not wanting to detonate it by mistake. Then, you rummaged through your pouch again, pulling from its depths your entire supply of smoke bombs. You hoped it would be enough to confuse his powerful eyesight abilities, giving you time to set up traps. You tried not to think about what would happen if his Byakugan could see through the smoke. Closing your eyes, you waited for Neji's chakra presence to come into your range of detection.

A familiar whistling noise rushed past your ear, stirring the air around your cheek and creating a soft breeze that could only be attributed to a fast-moving, bladed weapon. Your eyes snapped open as the kunai sank deeply into a tree several metres in front of you.

"You could see me?" you asked curiously, not turning around. You heard a rustle of leaves and Neji alighted on the branch directly in front, his back to you. He gave a stiff nod.

You kept your face in an emotionless mask, trying not to draw attention to the smoke bombs in your hands. But it seemed, the moment you thought about them, your eye twitched almost imperceptibly, moving towards your hands. You had a feeling he could see, because he turned suddenly, his eyes fixed on the smoke bombs.

You had no choice but to follow through with your makeshift plan now that he had spotted your meagre arsenal of generic ninja tools. You chucked one of your bombs at him, who stood there, impassive. It exploded, obscuring your own vision as well. Your plan slightly backfired, you remained standing, grinning sheepishly as the smoke cleared.

Neji was still there, his expression blank. "I can see through that too. You're only making it harder for yourself."

"I see," you muttered, pocketing the remaining hoard of precious smoke bombs and picking up your explosive-tagged kunai from the ground.

His eyes narrowed almost indiscernibly as he contemplated your next move. It seemed too obvious — his gut instincts told him that this was a ruse that disguised a second, more powerful attack. He could see it in the way your (e/c) eyes were hard and confident, unlike anyone he's ever battled before. Either you were self-assured that your strategy would defeat him, or you were a thick, dimwitted blockhead. Neji gazed attentively at your face, scrutinizing your every unconscious move.

So it shocked him to no end when you threw the kunai at him and bounded out of the way to avoid the imminent explosion. Neji avoided the detonation easily, leaping several metres into the air as he scanned his surroundings with his Byakugan. He spotted you immediately. You were perched on a tree branch close to the site of the explosion you had caused, wrapping an explosive tag around the trunk. Neji sighed, wondering if you were just concealing your potential or if this was really all you've got.

You secured the last trip wire around a large boulder, breaking the slender cord with your teeth. Satisfied with your handiwork, you proceeded to return to the clearing where you and Neji were supposed to have your battle.

Nearing the targeted area, you spotted Tenten and Lee hanging cautiously around the edge lined with trees. When they noticed you, Tenten sighed in relief and gave you a small wave.

"Have you see Neji?" you asked her. Tenten nodded and pointed above. Your gaze followed where she was pointing and you saw that Neji was crouching on a branch directly above your head. You moved out of the way, wary that he would throw something at you. Instead, he jumped off the branch and landed in before you, one palm raised in challenge.

"Why all those?" he asked, gesturing in the general direction of where you had set your equipment into an elaborate trap. "What could they possibly be for?"

You shrugged. If Neji thought you didn't believe he could be fooled by your traps, then you weren't going to tell him. Better to let your opponent overestimate or underestimate you rather than know the exact extent of your abilities. Your eyes flickered to the stance that was by now, getting familiar. Neji was a short-range fighter after all, this would be interesting…

" _Shift your posture a bit and loosen up, yes…like that. Now try again!"_

You slipped unconsciously into Lee's taijutsu stance, trying to calm yourself by breathing in deeply. Then your gaze shifted to Neji, who still hadn't moved. You stared unblinkingly at him, encouraging him to attack first. So he did.

In a flash, he had landed a blow to your chest before you could even move a muscle. By the spurt of brightest blue you observed the moment his fist made contact, you guessed he had struck you with a chakra-enhanced technique. You raised your leg, aiming a kick at Neji's side, only to be blocked by his arm. You staggered back on your feet, and coughed, alarmed by the blood that came up. It hadn't been a normal punch, then.

"Gentle Fist," Neji said promptly, answering the unspoken question lingering in your eyes. You took a few steps backwards, trying to regain your breath. Something was damaged, possibly your lung tissue. You placed a hand on your chest, wondering if he had done any lasting harm to your vital organs. You coughed again, trying to rid your mouth of the salty tang of fresh blood.

Neji waited just long enough for you to recover, before assailing you with a second attack. His taijutsu prowess was commendable, especially used in conjunction with his Gentle Fist style attack; it might even have surpassed Lee's extraordinary skill. You could barely block his attacks, and his strikes forced you to retreat step by step until your back was pressed against a tree. He sent another crushing blow to your heart, and you crumpled to the ground.

"All right. That's enough, Neji. We don't want her dying on us, don't we?" Gai called jokingly, jumping down from his spot on a tree branch.

"Why?" Neji asked frostily, folding his arms across his chest.

Gai looked confused and a little worried at his apparent bloodlust. "Well of course, we don't want you killing our newest team member —"

"No. Why did you make me fight [Name]?" he stared down at your body with a mix of concern and annoyance. You glanced up at him through half-lidded eyes, confused by the bizarre combination of emotions on his face.

Gai sighed. "She's one of the best in her graduating year. Remember, she's a genin fresh from the Academy."

Neji winced. He had forgotten that.

"I wanted to test your potential," Gai continued, addressing you now that you were gazing questioningly at your sensei. "And now I have something in mind for you, [Name]. Our team has been specializing in physical close-quarters combat for about a year now. Other than, ah…the bet with Kakashi, having you on my team has another benefit."

"Yes, sensei?" you asked, trying to get to your feet.

"You should know, I never expected you to beat Neji," he said seriously. "I was merely analyzing how long you would hold out. Furthermore, I wanted to test your abilities and set you on the right path."

The conversation had gotten the best of their curiosity, so Lee and Tenten approached cautiously to overhear what their sensei was telling you. Before Gai could continue, you coughed again.

_Read_ _**[Chapter 23, ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2145138) ** _ _then return to this page._

Tenten shook your shoulders roughly, looking thoroughly relieved that you had opened your eyes.

"S-sorry…" you said softly. "I'm okay now, thanks Tenten."

She nodded and let go of your shoulders. "Gai-sensei went off to find a medic-nin…don't give me that look! Even if you're conscious again, we'll be needing one for your internal injuries."

You grimaced, but didn't protest.

"Gai-sensei told me to tell you that he'll be arranging some lessons with various jounin sensei to figure out your jutsu affinity. Until the medics arrive, he wants you to rest up."

"But I'm fine!" you protested, looking yourself over.

"It's not the exterior you need to be worried about," Neji said quietly. "You have some serious internal bleeding that needs to be looked at."

You muttered something under your breath and Neji gave you a wry smile. "I know what I'm talking about."

"You can see —"

"Not the injuries, no. But it's pretty obvious once you started coughing up blood that my attacks had hit their intended target."

You nodded wisely, and settled more comfortably against the tree, awaiting Gai-sensei's return.

-:-

Gai cleared his throat, drumming his fingers against the railing of the hospital bed. "To balance out Team 9, [Name], I have decided on a couple of options that you could pursue. The first, you could dedicate your studies to both the arts of genjutsu and taijutsu, meaning you will study under Kurenai-sensei and I respectively. This, I recommend."

"Because you want to train her yourself as well," Tenten teased.

"And because Lee is overenthusiastic about teaching [Name] taijutsu!" Gai corrected her, tears of joy overflowing his eyes. Lee gave a thumbs-up in agreement. "Ahem, moving on. The next was recommended by Lady Tsunade herself following the aftermath of the Second Shinobi World War."

Tenten's eyes sparkled at the sound of the name, and you couldn't help but wonder who this Lady Tsunade was.

"And what is it, exactly?" you asked, unable to contain yourself.

"Your chakra control is excellent, and Hokage-sama himself agrees that you would make a good medical-nin, provided you are interested, of course. But genjutsu also requires extreme chakra control," he added, grinning conspiratorially. "So I still opt for the first choice."

"Don't be so biased, you'll confuse her," Tenten scolded reproachfully. She turned to you. "I think you'd make a brilliant medical-nin," she said breathlessly, her eyes glowing.

Neji gave her an amused glance. "Look who's talking."

You laughed, shifting in your uncomfortable hospital bed as you listened to their bickering. You had already made up your mind as to which type of jutsu you were more interested in, and you prepared to voice your opinion to your team.

_Taijutsu and genjutsu! Go to_ _**Chapter 57.** _

_Medical ninjutsu! Go to_ _**Chapter 58.** _

 


	36. Impulsive

Well, if Neji wasn't going to attack, you might as well make the first move. No sense in standing around and waiting forever for him, was there? You whipped out a handful of shuriken and flung them experimentally at his motionless figure. Neji sidestepped the incoming weapons easily and sent a speeding shuriken of his own in your direction. His reflexes were remarkable – you barely saw his hand reaching for his pouch let alone throwing the projectile at you with deadly accuracy. Even as you ducked, the blade of the shuriken grazed your shoulder, ripping the fabric of your sleeve. You gritted your teeth in frustration. He only used one, yet he was able to hit his target easily.

"Go, [Name]-san! You can do it!"

You looked up and saw Lee balancing on a branch high above. He waved and gave you the thumbs up.

"Don't waste our time, Lee," Neji said, staring intently straight ahead. He wasn't looking at anything in particular, but you had the eerie feeling that he was able to see Lee, and even you at the same time. "Her destiny…is to lose."

You stiffened. What was that supposed to mean? You voiced your opinion aloud and Neji gave you a small, humourless smile.

"You won't be able to beat me. I can see it in your eyes – you lack confidence."

You shot him a glare, unnerved. "Who says I lack confidence?"

"You're nervous," he stated calmly, spreading his heads. "You know you can't win."

"So this is how you fight," you marvelled, a snippet of memory flashing before your eyes. Neji standing over Naruto…telling him he was a failure…telling him that he could not win. "You talk your opponents out of it."

Neji flushed in anger and shifted his stance, his eyes narrowing dangerously. But when he spoke, his voice was steady, controlled. "You doubt my abilities, [Name]? Then let's finish this, and you will know full well what I am capable of."

"No, wait! I didn't mean –" you protested, raising your hands in defence.

"Neji, you're not going to –" Tenten called down in alarm from her perch beside Lee.

"Eight trigrams, sixty-four palms!" Neji changed his stance again, the veins around his eyes bulging with the telltale signs of his Byakugan. You grimaced in concentration, clasping your hands together to form the first seal to manipulate the body replacement jutsu.

"You know…" Neji called, breaking your concentration. "That's not going to work."

You faltered, and the split-second hesitation was all he needed. He launched himself at you.

"Two palms!"

You could barely track his movements, he was moving too fast. You felt a tingling pressure being applied to your shoulder and you wondered if Neji was aiming for your pressure points.

"Two palms!"

You could make out his blurred form, his fingers jabbing carefully but quickly at your arms and chest, seemingly aiming for specific points. That got your brain working.

"Four palms!"

You didn't know exactly what Neji was going to achieve by poking you, but you knew the outcome wouldn't be good. From the way Tenten and Lee tried to stop him, they knew something that you didn't. Close-range combat…your eyes widened.

"Eight palms!"

You concentrated on the taijutsu training you had with Lee earlier, realizing that the only way to fight this close-range combat was to do some close-range combat of your own. Fighting fire with fire…only yours was barely a flickering candle flame, but it would do. You leapt nimbly out of the way just as Neji's attack barely missed your neck. Unfazed, he merely skidded to a halt, kicking up a spray of dust. You alighted a few metres away and prepared to defend yourself, but a wracking pain spread through your body and you fell to your knees, coughing.

"I told you already," Neji said coldly, his voice resounding unnaturally in your head. "You know you can't win."

"That's probably true," you admitted weakly. "But it doesn't mean I can't try."

A flash of anger flickered within Neji's pale, lavender eyes. He gave a harsh, bitter laugh. "You don't honestly think you'll accomplish anything by trying."

You tried to shrug, but found that moving your shoulders hurt too much so you settled for a small shake of the head. "It doesn't hurt to try. If I fail, it's not like it'll affect the rest of my life."

"Once a failure, always a failure."

He said the same thing to Naruto once, you thought idly to yourself. But as quickly as the thought had occurred to you, the memory had vanished. What was that you were thinking about again? Hmm, the battle…Neji…

"You can't change your destiny," he said, interrupting your reveries. He sounded almost apologetic as his voice drew nearer. You lifted your head as another spasm of pain filled your limbs.

"I blocked off fifteen of your tenketsu," he explained, activating his Byakugan again with a single hand seal. "I've closed off much of your chakra pathway system, so naturally, you must be feeling the effects. And now…"

"Do not, Neji!" Lee called down, a note of panic in his voice.

Neji's hand paused over your unprotected forearm and he glanced up at his teammate, his expression mildly amused. "She's almost as persistent as you are. She needs to understand that some things cannot be changed, like the outcome of this battle."

"Gai-sensei…!" Lee pleaded, but there seemed to be no reply.

While he was momentarily distracted, you had forced your arm away from Neji's outstretched fingers. His pale eyes flickered to your (e/c) ones, seemingly amused by your efforts. He held your gaze for a moment, then he leaned forward until his lips were inches from your ear.

"Once a failure, always a failure," he whispered, before you felt a sharp pain in your wrist and you passed out.

-:-

"[Name]-san!"

"[Name], can you hear me?"

Your eyes fluttered open and focussed on the painfully bright fluorescent lights of…the hospital ceiling?

You jumped to your feet, simultaneously kicking off the whitewashed blankets covering your body. You took in the room in one sweeping glance, surprised to see Gai-sensei, Tenten, Lee, and even Neji standing beside your bed.

"Whoa, easy!" Gai boomed, his thick eyebrows furrowed in concern. The blood suddenly rushed to your head and you teetered unsteadily on your feet.

_Read_ _**[Chapter 23,](http://www.lunaescence.com/fics/viewstory.php?sid=34470&textsize=0&chapter=23) ** _ _then return to this page._

"Careful, [Name]," Tenten caught you before you hit the floor.

"She's still very weak," Neji said quietly.

"Well of course! And who did this to her, huh?" Tenten snapped, gently laying you down on the hospital bed.

Neji was silent, his eyes fixed on the window.

"[Name]-san, I am glad you are all right!" Lee declared jubilantly. "Gai-sensei says there is no time to waste. We will begin training…now!"

"Um…okay," you mumbled, struggling to sit up.

"No," Tenten said firmly, pushing your head back down on the pillow. "You need your rest."

"For once, she's right," Gai agreed, earning him a crestfallen look from Lee. "The nurses said she'll need at least a week to recover."

"A week?!" you echoed in disbelief.

"We will make up the lost time by training five times as hard!" Lee cried passionately. "So rest up, [Name]-san, we have a long day ahead of us!"

Gai tapped his foot thoughtfully. "Actually, Lee. I don't think [Name]'s taijutsu needs work. Her weakness is a lack of specialty, and from the looks of it, Team Gai lacks a genjutsu caster. What do you say, [Name]?"

"You are right, Gai-sensei! But surely [Name]-san can learn both –"

"You don't want to overwork her," Tenten butted in, giving you a concerned glance.

"Actually, I think it's a great idea," you said. "I'd love to train with you, Lee, to work on my taijutsu. And genjutsu training sounds like a good plan as well."

Gai looked disconcerted by your enthusiasm. "Well, then it's settled! I'll arrange genjutsu lessons with Kurenai, if you don't mind. I'm not particularly fond of illusion techniques."

"Of course," you said agreeably, nodding.

"Then I'll leave you to rest. Take it easy, okay?"

You nodded again, and Gai left the room. Neji glanced at you, a trace of guilt sparking in his milky eyes before he excused himself and departed too. Lee remained for a long time, chattering aimlessly about the techniques that he couldn't wait to show you. It wasn't until Gai poked his head in to inform him that he was late for training before he reluctantly left your side.

That left Tenten. She occupied the only stool in the room, sitting beside your bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her eyebrows creased in worry.

You gave her a grin to reassure her that you were fine. "Don't worry about me, I'll be back to normal in no time!"

Tenten sighed and rolled her eyes. "You sound like Gai-sensei and Lee. Don't tell me they're rubbing off on you."

You shrugged and laughed.

Outside of the wooden door, keeping deliberately away from the translucent windowpane, Neji leaned heavily against the wall. His eyes were half-closed, as if he was meditating, but the prominent veins around his eyes indicated that he had his Byakugan activated.

-:-

"Hello, [Name]." The woman was tall, with wavy black hair and wide, crimson eyes. You recognized her as Kurenai-sensei, and you quickly addressed her with the proper honorific, dipping your head respectfully.

"Gai mentioned to me that you would like to develop your genjutsu skills," she questioned, sitting down on the stool that Tenten usually occupied.

"Hai, sensei," you affirmed.

Kurenai smiled. "This supplementary training would be good for you, I daresay. Gai's rigorous training system tends to wear one out after prolonged exposure."

You laughed nervously. "Not for Lee, it hasn't."

"Oh, of course. Nevertheless, I've taken a quick peek at your files, and your current ability will be easy to work with. Genjutsu is a good choice for a chakra-control oriented kunoichi such as you. Medical ninjutsu is certainly another path you could follow…"

You shifted uncomfortably and her eyes followed your movements curiously.

"But perhaps you would find illusionary techniques to be your forte. Well then, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" she asked good-humouredly, her eyes twinkling.

"Uh…yes, sensei!" you said, blinking.

"Meet me at the second training ground at precisely two o'clock today, and I'll see what I can do."

"Of course, sensei!" you affirmed, giving her a stiff bow.

_Go to_ _**Chapter 59.** _


	37. Resourceful

You're sure it's a diversion for a larger-scale attack. Your eyes roamed keenly over the multitude of well-placed scrolls littering the ground around Tenten's feet and knew that they most likely all contained fuinjutsu sealing away her stash of lethal weapons. You caught the fuma shuriken with one hand, staggering back with its weight and the force of her powerful throw. Simultaneously, you drew a length of coiled wire string from your pouch and unravelled it.

Tenten crouched, activating one of her larger scrolls and unsealing a number of kunai from within. You could see the telltale glint of her own wires stringing the mass of weapons together. She launched them at you, propelling the knives with a burst of chakra. You sidestepped to avoid them, blindly tossing one end of your wires through the holes in the handles, hoping to catch at least one in your crude trap. To your delight, your wire strings were able to ensnare several kunai – a better result than you had initially hoped for. You gave a sharp tug, which Tenten was not expecting, and her own wire strings slipped from her fingers.

"Impressive!" Tenten's eyes shone as the kunai clattered harmlessly to the floor. "You managed to foil my counterattack before I actually performed it. Sharp eyes."

You nodded. You couldn't afford to be distracted and you yanked the wire strings towards you, dragging the rest of the kunai along. There were far too many to carry around with you, and leaving them here would only result in giving Tenten an advantage. You pulled out a blank scroll from your hip pouch and sealed away as many kunai within it as you were able.

Hearing the telltale whoosh of an incoming weapon attack, you ducked out of the way, only to realize too late that it had been a means to distract you. A giant metal sphere came hurtling towards you and it struck you in the chest, smashing your body against the trunk of a tree.

Tenten landed gracefully on the branch, swinging a lethal-looking kama attached to a chain in her hands. You freed yourself quickly from the now-deformed silver ball and kicked it aside, boosting it with a burst of your chakra. Tumbling to the ground, you landed upright but shakily on your feet. She gave you less than a second to recover before lunging at you with the kama.

You dropped to the floor, spinning out of the way to avoid the weapon and flicked a kunai into your hand to counter her next attack. Tenten twirled the chain above her head and tried again, impaling it in the tree beside you. You took advantage of her momentary inability to move the kama to wrap your wire strings around the handle, effectively trapping it. Without missing a beat, she released her hold on the kama and jumped off the tree, scooping up a scroll she had placed on the ground. You readied yourself, holding out your kunai to deflect whatever she was going to throw at you as she unsealed it, unleashing a variety of weapons in a soft puff of smoke.

You leaped onto a branch, deeming it wise to get to higher ground. In that way, gravity would surely work against Tenten's attacks. And even if she did counter it, that would require chakra, efficiently depleting her reserves in the process. She seemed to realize what you were doing, because she immediately jumped onto a branch as well, her weapons in tow.

Ignoring her advances, you continued to jump higher and higher, the branches becoming ever-sparser and thinner as you went. When you heard the soft rustling of leaves cease which indicated that Tenten had stopped, you stopped moving as well. You didn't want to risk breaking the slender branches with your weight.

"Well?" Tenten called up at you, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight with a tanto. The light reflecting off the polished blade blinded you momentarily, giving you a flicker of inspiration. If you weren't able to fend off her seemingly endless supplies of weapons, you would use them against her.

Making a mental note to replenish your stock of wire strings, you proceeded to tie one end around your index finger and the other to the ring of a kunai. Then you aimed it directly at the centre of a giant shuriken half-hidden behind Tenten's back. Once you secured the weapon, you hauled it towards you and smirked when she gave a shocked gasp.

"What are you doing?" Tenten asked suspiciously, watching as you grabbed the shuriken safely by the circular opening in the middle.

"Nothing," you said casually, trying to shift it around so that the reflective metal would refract a beam of sunlight into her eyes. She let out a yelp, temporarily blinded and you grinned, jumping off the tree with your kunai poised to strike.

By the battle that ensued, you could tell that Tenten was clearly more suited to long-range attacks. Despite being a year more experienced, you had several factors in this specific fight to your advantage. Along with constant repositioning of the giant shuriken that you now had to reflect light into her eyes for moments at a time, you were slowly but surely weakening her defences. Your kunai clashed with hers again, showering the both of you with bright orange sparks. You were sweating profusely in the hot sun, but you weren't about to give up so easily, especially since you were so close to winning.

With her free hand, she snatched one of the scrolls positioned on the ground and unsealed it, releasing a barrage of more weapons. You groaned. Now you had to concentrate on parrying her kunai attacks as well as any projectile she threw at you. Tenten gave you a wry smile, panting. You knew that she, like you, was exhausted and tried beyond her limits. You had to end this soon, or you would certainly lose.

A flash of sunlight near your index finger caught your attention, and your eyes flickered to your kunai. You realized that it was still tied securely to a wire string, and that gave you an idea.

When Tenten readied her kunai for another fatigue-weakened blow, instead of countering it, you dodged. You threw your own kunai past her shoulder, guiding it with chakra so that it went around her back and returned to your hand. Before Tenten could react, you pulled on the wires, which wrapped around her body and slammed her against a tree.

You had hoped the impact would knock her unconscious, but unfortunately you were too tired to use enough force to do so. Tenten raised her kunai, preparing to cut through the strings and you threw your own at it, knocking it out of her grip. Her eyes widened, and a small, defeated smile formed on her lips.

"I guess you've won, have you?" she asked, her eyes searching the vicinity for any discarded weapons lying around. Seeing none, she grimaced.

You shrugged, eyeing her apprehensively. She might possibly try to escape and attack again, you never know. But Gai, Neji and Lee approached, so you relaxed slightly.

"That was incredible! [Name]-san…you have demonstrated the power of youth! Yosh!" Lee came bounding forwards, looking characteristically excited.

"I'm impressed," said Gai, looking at the bound Tenten to you who had collapsed to the ground with fatigue. "Both of your strategies were outstanding, and I think I've studied enough of how [Name] reacts to determine what sort of training would suit her best."

You loosened the wires strings, and Tenten stood up shakily, rubbing her aching back.

"That was…good," she said, bending down to gather the weapons scattered all over the ground. "It was a pleasure fighting with you."

"Me too," you said, helping her to collect her fallen scrolls.

_Read **Chapter 23,** then return to this page._

"[Name]?"

You paused in your preparations for sealing Tenten's kama back inside its designated scroll.

"Team Gai has two taijutsu experts, a bukijutsu specialist, and Neji," Gai said, gesturing to the members of his team in turn. "To balance it out, what do you think we need?"

"Another Neji?" you asked.

"Don't be silly, [Name]. The only achievable goal now is to train you in the art of weaponry. That way, we have equal numbers of close-range and long-range fighters, as well as Neji, who is…adaptable. So what do you say? Does learning bukijutsu perk your interest?"

_Yosh! Weapons + [Name] = the perfect combination! Go to_ _**Chapter 60.** _

_Nope, you were just making use of what you had. You're no good with sharp, pointy things. Go to_ _**Chapter 61.** _


	38. Strategic

You fastened explosive tags to several of your kunai and threw them at Tenten. Some bounced harmlessly off the fuma shuriken with echoing clangs while others landed at her feet. Hoping the impact of the kunai would slow the giant weapon's advances, you turned your back on Tenten. You would find cover in the dense forest and plan out your next attack.

"You shouldn't let your opponent get behind you!" she called.

"I wasn't planning to," you replied. As the first kunai of her subsequent attack clattered to the ground near your feet, you executed a quick substitution jutsu and dove into the forest, unnoticed.

Meanwhile, the paper tags had exploded around Tenten, forcing her to jump high into the air to avoid being blasted out of the way. She then emptied an entire scroll in midair, and what appeared to be your lifeless body lay trapped under a mass of various weapons. She dropped to the ground, slightly worried for a moment until your body vanished, replaced by a log. A small, relieved smile graced her lips. Tenten unrolled another scroll, awaiting your next attack in anticipation.

Not far from where she stood, you crouched on a branch, hidden among the leaves. You had Tenten's fuma shuriken in one hand and a rock in the other. What to do…? Your gaze flickered to the back of Tenten's head again. She had just discovered your body replacement, so you didn't have much time now. You lobbed the rock directly at Tenten, quickly moving to a different place to hide as it hit her squarely in the back. She whirled around, her eyes narrowing. As you hoped, she summoned the contents of the scroll and began throwing them in the direction of your original hiding spot.

Gripping the fuma shuriken tightly, you proceeded to use the clone jutsu to duplicate it several times. Then you sealed the original on one of the blank scrolls in your pouch. Tossing one of the clones at Tenten, you found a different place to hide again. She quickly unsealed another scroll, blocking the clone with her own weapons. With the activation of a second scroll, she launched another volley of kunai in the direction your shuriken had come from.

You smiled grimly, repeating the process with another clone. You hoped to deplete her stock of weapons, and so far it didn't seem to be working.

As your seventh cloned shuriken passed through Tenten's chest harmlessly and disappeared in a puff of smoke, she seemed to realize your strategy at once.

"It's not going to work," she called, reaching into her pocket. "You won't be able to exhaust my supply of weapons."

You gritted your teeth, hoping that she was bluffing. It looked like you were going to have to come out into the open and try your hand at close-range combat. Pulling out a kunai, you charged. When Tenten saw you, a triumphant smirk curved the corners of her lips. She raised her hands and you glimpsed the telltale glimmer of wire strings in the sunlight. _Wire strings…?!_

You skidded to a halt, but it was too late. Tenten raised her hands and her fingers moved swiftly, lifting the thousands of weapons scattered around her feet into the air. With a downward flick, she sent everything flying straight towards you.

There was nothing you could do but close your eyes and shield the nape of your neck protectively with your arms. You heard a loud, metallic clang and the grinding of metal against metal. You winced, resisting the sudden urge to cover your ears.

Then eerie silence.

You opened your eyes tentatively, peering through your lashes. Looking past the criss-crossing bars of metal, you caught sight of Tenten grinning at you, flanked by the rest of your team who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Cool huh?"

Your gaze traveled over the network of an assortment of weapons interwoven to form a cage-like contraption around you. You nodded weakly, relief seeping through your veins when you realized that Tenten had no intention of impaling you with her weapons.

Tenten jerked the wire strings and the entire cage fell apart with a resounding crash. "You didn't actually think I would hurt you with this stuff?" she teased, flashing you a bright smile.

"Actually, I wasn't so sure," you admitted, stumbling over to your teammates, feeling a bit light-headed.

"You did a great job!" Lee declared, patting you vigorously on the back.

"T-thanks," you managed.

_Read_ _**[Chapter 23, ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2145138) ** _ _then return to this page._

"[Name], you okay?" Tenten slapped your cheek lightly, her brown eyes anxious.

You opened your eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, the near-death experience is just getting to me."

Tenten gave a small laugh as Gai cleared his throat. "That was an interesting battle, thought I can't say it wasn't unexpected."

You turned slightly pink and looked down.

"But you need to remember that Tenten has had a year more of training and experience than you," he continued kindly. "And it seems that the two of you have something in common – analytical skills and a flair for weaponry. Am I correct?"

_Yosh! Weapons + [Name] = the perfect combination! Go to_ _**Chapter 60.** _

_Nope, you were just making use of what you had. You're no good with sharp, pointy things. Go to_ _**Chapter 61.** _


	39. Ambitious

You fished around in your hip pouch in search for smoke bombs as a temporary distraction. As the thick, purple smoke obscured your vision and invaded your nose and mouth, you instantly regretted this move. Now you would be unable to rely on sight alone to detect the advances of Tenten's fuma shuriken –

"Gah…!"

You let out a yelp of pain and shock as the giant projectile pierced the flesh of your leg, effectively pinning you to the ground. When the smoke cleared, Tenten had a scroll unfurled, preparing to launch another volley of weapons until she spotted you. Dropping her scroll in surprise, she began to laugh.

"Hey, it's not funny!" you said reproachfully, eyeing the shuriken with distaste. She stopped, fighting to keep a grin off her face.

"Sorry, I just didn't expect to get you in one hit. It usually takes much more ammunition to subdue my opponents, you see? Guess your smoke bomb strategy backfired, huh?"

You glared darkly at the polished metal blades stained crimson with your blood and sighed. "That was quick. Tenten, could you help me get this thing out my leg?"

She bounded down from her perch immediately.

"My goodness, how did that happen?" she asked, inspecting the shuriken lodged deep in your flesh. "I wish I were, but I'm not a medical-nin by any stretch of the imagination, so this will hurt, got it?"

"Thanks," you muttered, cringing. You squeezed your eyes tightly shut, readying yourself.

Tenten took a deep breath and yanked the fuma shuriken out of your leg. You gave a shout of pain, nauseated by the excruciating feeling of cold metal sliding out of the deep wound. You shuddered at the metal image, glad that you had closed your eyes for the duration of the procedure. You felt light-headed and tried to stand up. The rest of your team was now there, much to your embarrassment.

"Sit down," Gai ordered sternly. "You're in no condition to be putting strain on that leg."

_Read_ [ _**Chapter 23,** _ ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1009586/chapters/2145138) _then return to this page._

"I told you," Gai said, sounding exasperated.

Your eyes flickered open and you grinned up at him. "Sorry, sensei."

"As long as you listen to me from now on," he grumbled, wiping the fuma shuriken with a damp cloth. "This sparring exercise was meant to test one thing – your potential."

"My…potential?" You slapped a hand to your forehead, mentally scolding yourself for the smoke bomb stunt you pulled. How on earth was Gai-sensei going to find you an asset to the team if all you did was severely injure yourself?

"I was able to gather much from your strategy and reactions," he continued. You blushed, sure he would tell you off.

"And you're clearly suited to the art of nature transformation, something you most likely didn't learn in the Academy."

"Nature transformation?" you repeated blankly.

"Elemental ninjutsu," he clarified, searching his pockets for a moment and pulling out a slip of paper. "Here, take this."

"W-what –?" you took it in your hands, gazing as it began to split down the middle before your eyes.

Gai nodded, as if he had been expecting it all along. "Your chakra has an affinity towards the Wind nature, just as I thought."

"Gai-sensei, you're incredible!" Lee cried, his eyes filling with tears. "How did you know?"

"Because…" he was at a loss for words. "Well…it was an educated guess!"

"What words of wisdom!" Lee gushed, whipping out a black book and scribbling in it at rapid-fire speed. Tenten deadpanned and let out a small huff.

"Wind…" you mused. "What kind of training am I going to be put through?"

"Wind Release teachers are going to be hard to find in Konoha. I recommend that we send you to Suna to study for a few months before returning in time for the upcoming Chuunin exams."

Four pairs of eyes turned to look at Gai in disbelief.

"But she just joined our team, and you're sending her away just like that?" Tenten asked incredulously.

"Would that be wise?" Neji asked quietly.

"Sunakagure is our ally," Gai said pointedly. "I doubt she will run into any troubles when she is there. Moreover, [Name] doesn't have the year of training the rest of you have had. It will be a good experience for her, or else I may have to hold her back from participating in the exams."

"That would be a good idea," you said slowly. You didn't want to be a burden to your team, and you figured picking up some new skills wouldn't hurt. Besides, Gai-sensei did say that your chakra had wind affinity. You felt useless at your quick defeat. On top of that, you didn't like the idea of being held back from the Chuunin exams, whatever they were.

"Thank you, [Name]. You're the only one with the right to object, yet I don't see you complaining," Gai said firmly. Neji made a small 'hn' noise in the back of his throat and Tenten folded her arms across her chest, looking defiant. "I'll ask Hokage-sama to send a diplomatic message to the Sand Village to inform them to expect your arrival. Meet me at the Hokage's office in two days."

"Hai, sensei!"

-:-

"Good luck on your training and travel safely, [Name]-san!"

"Thanks Lee," you said appreciatively, giving the suit-clad ninja a warm smile. You had packed most of your ninja equipment, along with some ryo that Iruka had generously given to you as a gift when you had told him where you were going.

"Your escorts will be waiting outside of the Konoha gates," the Hokage rumbled, walking over to the window.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," you said, before waving to Tenten, Gai-sensei and Neji.

The sun had not yet risen completely, and you felt a warm, tingling sensation on your face as the first rays of sunlight hit your skin. You yawned. It was still pretty early, and the streets were almost deserted, save for a few stragglers once in a while. You headed towards the outskirts of Konoha, your tote bag in tow.

Standing just outside the large green gates were four figures which you did not recognize immediately upon inspection. One of them gave a hearty wave. Nearing the entrance to Konoha, you recognized the four people to be the members of Team 8.

"Hello there, [Name]!" Kiba called when you neared the gates. "Who would've thought our first C-ranked mission would be escorting you to Suna? Akamaru, this is gonna be a blast! I hope it's dangerous, 'cause I'm all up for it!"

"K-kiba-kun, don't!" Hinata squeaked, clapping a hand over her mouth.

"Hey!" you protested indignantly. "Dangerous?!"

"Ohayo, [Name]-chan," Hinata mumbled shyly, peeling her fingers away from her face.

"Hi, Hinata," you said brightly, sneaking a quick peek at the impassive figure of Shino. "Um…hi Shino," you greeted politely, feeling awkward. He gave you a stiff nod, but didn't respond.

"Team 8, are you ready?" Kurenai asked, her gaze sweeping over her genin squad.

"Hai, sensei!" they replied in unison.

"All right, listen up. It takes around two and a half days to get to Suna on foot, so be prepared for a long journey ahead."

"I've a-always wanted to see the Sand Village," Hinata murmured, her lavender eyes sparkling.

"We won't be going in," Kurenai told a crestfallen Hinata. "Hokage-sama's instructions were to escort [Name] to the entrance. A squad of Suna-nin will take her from there. Even if they were our allies, they don't appreciate Leaf shinobi entering their village uninvited." Her crimson eyes flickered over the three members of her team again. "Any questions? No? Then let's go."

The five of you immediately took off into the air, headed for the Land of Wind.

-:-

"This wind…it's interfering with my sense of smell," Kiba grumbled, holding onto his fur-lined hood in an effort to keep it securely on his head.

"The rest of us…can barely…breathe!" you gasped, blinking away the wind-induced tears rising to your eyes. You trudged along, no longer half-flying due to the stormy weather. Even walking, you were buffeted back every once in a while by the sheer strength of the wind.

"It's only going to get worse," Kurenai, giving your desperate efforts a mildly concerned glance. "Once we near the village, it's not only the wind you'll need to worry about, but the sand." Akamaru whimpered in agreement, rubbing sand out of his eyes with his paw.

The wind picked up speed, stirring the dusty sand below your feet. It rose in eddies, churning around the five of you like an ethereal liquid. The sun grew gradually hotter, baking the parched ground with its glare. You wiped beads of sweat off your brow, having trouble inhaling the thick, humid air. It looked like you were going to have to get used to the desert-like climate of Suna soon if you were going to be living here for the next few months. Sand began to swirl around you, stinging your eyes and exposed skin until you felt raw and sore.

"Kurenai-sensei," Kiba called, his voice a little muffled. He had a hand over his face to block the sand from entering his nose and mouth. "How long…have we been travelling?"

She looked back, and you could tell that she was trying to hide her worry. "It's been three days," she said finally, turning away. "But still no sign of the Sand Village."

_Go to **Chapter 62.**_

 


	40. Shorter Route

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sory for the 1000 years of wait! for anyone who is reading this and doesn't know, there are 99 chapters of this thing posted on lunaescence.com, gotvg.net, or alternatively, wattpad has maybe 70-ish chapters hahaha...the formatting on AO3 kind of takes forever so that's why updates have been slow (read: 2 years+ late) so thanks for sticking around :')

You decide to take the shorter route, so you could get home quickly and have more time for training afterwards. When you reached your house, you were greeted with an unexpected surprise.

"Asuma-sensei! Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino…what are you guys doing here?"

Asuma rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, chewing on his cigarette. "I forgot to mention one more thing. You do know that the rest of your team all have secret _hiden_ techniques passed through generations of their clan."

"Yes," you said slowly, wondering what he was going with this.

"In order to compensate for what you…lack, I want you to master elemental ninjutsu and partake in the necessary training to accomplish this."

Asuma rummaged in the scroll pockets of his green vest for a moment and drew a square piece of plain paper from its depths. He held it out and you took it in your fingers, confused.

"It's a simple experiment to test your element affinity," he stated, noticing your bemused expression. "By holding it, you will unconsciously imbue it with a small amount of your chakra."

Still baffled, you stood there as your body allowed a subtle stream of physical and spiritual energies to flow to the tips of your fingers and transfer into the fibres of the paper. It warmed in your hand and the edges glowed faintly with a soft blue light.

_The paper ignited and turned ash? Go to_ _**Chapter 63.** _

_The paper split in two? Go to_ _**Chapter 64.** _

_The paper wrinkled? Go to_ _**Chapter 65.** _

_The paper crumbled into dirt? Go to_ _**Chapter 66.** _

_The paper became soggy? Go to_ _**Chapter 67.** _


	41. Longer Route

You decide to take the longer route, because you wanted to travel around the unexplored streets of the Leaf Village. Your eyes travelled through the busy streets and alighted on the familiar red sign painted on white canvas.

_Ramen Ichiraku._

You smiled and stopped before the entrance, hoping that Naruto would be there. It felt like ages since you last saw the hyperactive blond ninja and you wondered how he was doing.

As expected, you glimpsed the back of a bright orange jumpsuit when you pushed the fabric of the Ichiraku sign aside and entered the cozy restaurant.

"Welcome! What can I get for you?" Teuchi asked merrily, serving Naruto what appeared to be his third bowl of ramen.

"Just a small serving of miso ramen, please," you requested, your eyes scanned the menu taped to the wall. You pulled out a small pouch that Iruka had given you containing some ryo and sat down on the stool beside Naruto. He was slurping on his ramen, oblivious to your presence until you gave him a gentle poke. He looked around wildly until he spotted you.

"[Name]-chan!" he cried, his voice muffled because his mouth was stuffed with ramen. He swallowed quickly and flashed you his signature grin.

"Hey, Naruto," you said warmly. You thanked Ayame as she handed you the noodles you ordered. Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, you settled down and began to munch happily on the ramen.

"So how are you?" Naruto asked between gulps of noodle and soup. "I haven't seen you in _ages_."

You laughed. "I was thinking the exact same thing on the way here. I'm doing pretty good — our team passed our mission without a hitch."

He dropped his chopsticks, freeing his hand for a high five, which you gave him enthusiastically. "We did too! Kakashi-sensei's test was easy," he claimed, his blue eyes widening. "Me, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke-teme are going to get a mission tomorrow!"

"That's great!" you said, with real feeling. "Asuma-sensei is going to give us our first mission tomorrow too!"

You spent the remaining afternoon chattering with Naruto until the sky was tinged with a reddish hue. Teuchi let the pair of you stay in the restaurant long after you were done eating. He claimed it was because there were no other customers that day, but you knew that he was happy to be in the company of the blonde boy.

At last, you bid Teuchi and Ayame farewell as they closed down the shop for the night. Naruto walked you to your house, chatting the entire way.

"Good luck on your first mission, [Name]-chan," Naruto said, waving as you unlocked your door.

"You too, Naruto. Good night!" You waved back at him as he disappeared into the darkening night, an enormous grin on his face. Flicking the lights on idly, you decided to get a good night's sleep in order to prepare for tomorrow's mission, even if it was just the simple, tedious task of babysitting.

-:-

"Good, you're all here," Asuma said, sighing in relief. "Our first mission is simple and straightforward. We're going to be removing litter that has been accumulating on the forest floor."

"That's a _mission_?!" Ino gaped, glaring accusingly at her sensei.

"As genin fresh from the Academy, those are they types of missions you'll be getting," he said, nodding. "Every shinobi has to start small, but you'll be assigned to higher-ranked missions in the future. Keep that in mind."

The team proceeded to march towards the forest in silence, Ino trailing behind petulantly. It took several hours, but you and the rest of Team 10 were able to manually rid the ground of garbage.

"That was a drag," Shikamaru said, yawning. "Can we go home now?"

Asuma smiled. "We'll need to report back to the Mission Assignment Desk to collect your pay. Great work, everyone."

It turned out; he had several more missions planned for his team. All afternoon, you planted flowers, took care of animals, and completed a series of dreary tasks that left you and the rest of your team in a foul mood.

"I'm done, sensei," Ino grumbled, pocketing her ryo. "No more missions, please!"

"No problem," Asuma replied, laughing. "We're done for the day, or…" he peered out the window of the office, "um, night. See you four tomorrow!"

You raised a hand noncommittally. Ino was still sulking, and didn't even bother to wave.

Walking out of the Academy building alone, you made your way slowly towards your house. It was a dark and moonless night, ominously cloudy with no sign of stars. You shivered as a draft of cold air swept over you, chilling you to the bone. Hugging your jacket closer to your body, you quickened your pace.

"Good evening."

You froze. You recognized that voice from…somewhere. "W-who's there…?"

You heard a dark chuckle. "Does it matter? Lord Orochimaru specifically requested fifty test subjects from Konohagakure to resume a discontinued… _experiment._ You my dear, are nothing but a pawn. There is no need for me to tell you anything."

You were rooted to the spot, terrified. A sharp pain shot through your forearm and you gave an intake of breath.

"Just a weak poison," he said casually, as you crumpled to the floor. He lifted the syringe to eye level, examining it critically. "We don't want you running away, do we?"

You shuddered, beginning to lose consciousness as the poison seeped through your bloodstream. Your eyes closed of their own accord, but not before you caught a glimpse of round glasses reflecting what little light there was, and a recognizable sadistic smile.

-:-

"[Name] is late for once," Ino muttered, glancing anxiously around for any sign of you. Finding none, she turned back to Shikamaru. "And so is Asuma-sensei. Shikamaru, what do you think?"

"Why are you asking me?" he protested, folding his arms. "How should I know?"

Ino shot him a dirty glare, but refrained from retorting as Asuma chose that moment to make an appearance. "Asuma-sensei!" she called, waving energetically.

He looked extremely upset as he walked towards them. "Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji. We have an urgent mission to undertake, and we have no time to lose."

"Not another mission," Ino groaned, flapping her hands dramatically. "I'm worn out from all those boring jobs you made us do yesterday."

"This one isn't an ordinary mission. It's B-ranked, and normally would be assigned to more experienced squads of chuunin or jounin. But unfortunately, we're running short on shinobi numbers at the moment, and cannot afford to send out higher-ranked ninja."

"B-ranked? That's great, sensei!" Ino cried, her eyes gleaming.

Asuma's expression darkened. "Fifty Konoha genin have been abducted by enemy ninja of Otogakure. We don't know what they intend to do, but from the village's affiliation with the missing-nin Orochimaru, it can't be good."

"Saving fifty abductees?" Shikamaru interjected. "That's not going to be possible for our squad, even if [Name] manages to make it on time. Four scrawny genin and a single jounin sensei? Forget it."

Asuma sighed heavily. "Several teams of jounin have been dispatched already to retrieve the missing genin, so don't worry about having to single-handedly save everyone. Our mission is very specific. We're going to the Sound Village to rescue [Name]."

_Go to_ _**Chapter 68.** _


	42. Leaf Style: Kenjutsu

"I'm so sorry!" you cried apologetically as you collided headfirst into a tall man wearing the standard Konohagakure flak jacket. You backed away, feeling thoroughly embarrassed by your blunder.

"Don't worry about it," the man said, coughing. He had dark brown hair and he wore his forehead protector like a bandanna around his head. His most prominent feature, and one of the first things you noticed about his appearance was the dark bags under his eyes.

"Hey, you look familiar!" you blurted out, before turning slightly pink at your unexpected outburst. He gave you a wry smile.

"Do I?"

You squinted at him and shrugged slightly. There was something about his face that made you think you've seen him before, somewhere.

"You must be [Name]," he said, coughing again.

Your eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Your sensei sent for me," he explained. "I'm Gekkou Hayate."

"Nice to meet you," you said hesitantly, feeling uncomfortable. "Why did Asuma-sensei send you here for?"

Hayate gave another racking cough, and you wondered if he was ill. Come to think if it, he looked a little pale, like he was sick. And dark circles under the eyes were never a good sign. "He asked me for a favour. Instead of embarking on that D-ranked mission tomorrow, Asuma wants you to train."

"Train?" you echoed, confused.

He nodded. "More specifically, he wants you to learn the art of kenjutsu. He believes it will be good practise for you."

"Swords?" you asked, your eyes growing wide.

"Yes," he confirmed, a small smile creeping on his face.

"Cool!" you exclaimed, clapping your hands together like a small child promised a treat. Hayate looked troubled by your unbridled enthusiasm, but didn't bother to comment. He probably thought you were a little crazy, you decided.

-:-

An hour later, you were crouching on a large rock, trying to balance a katana vertically on your palm.

"I still don't get why I have to do this," you muttered, shooting Hayate a reproachful glare.

"The objective of this activity is to learn how to infuse your weapons with chakra. The mere action of wielding a sword won't do much in the long run," he countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine." You went back to concentrating a thin, sharp flow of chakra into the tip of the blade while simultaneously trying to keep the katana from wobbling too badly with a second stream of chakra. Hayate leaned casually against the rock, watching you practise. Your arms soon grew sore, and you wished that you were on the mission with the rest of your team. Why did Asuma-sensei want you to go through this training instead?

"Um, Hayate…sensei?" you called, cautiously testing the honorific on your tongue.

"Yes?"

"Why did Asuma-sensei ask you to train me in kenjutsu? I thought we were supposed to be going on a mission today." You lost your focus momentarily, and the katana slipped from your chakra-suffused hold and clattered noisily to the ground.

"Careful, [Name]," he scolded, picking up the sword and handing to you. "The rest of your squad have techniques passed down from generations of their clan members. Asuma noted that, as you do not, you need to find yourself a useful skill in order to be an asset to your team."

Wide-eyed, you nodded mutely.

"He told me that there were a variety of fighting styles you could be potentially suited to. But it was something you said that gave him the inspiration to choose kenjutsu for you."

Your eyes widened. You remembered.

" _How silly of me, I thought they were as big as swords!"_

"When I thought Asuma-sensei's trench knives were the size of swords," you realized, gripping the katana tightly in your fist.

Hayate nodded, coughing. "It wasn't much of a lead, but he was running out of ideas. It's difficult to choose a shinobi's path for them, especially as a young genin with so much potential. Asuma thought it could be a start."

"I see," you replied. "All right, then I won't let him down." Setting the katana upright on your outstretched palm, you carried on imbuing a steady stream of your chakra into the blade.

"I admire your spirit," he said, smiling. "Determination like this won't go unrewarded."

You grimaced as your hand began to tremble from effort of holding the heavy sword perpendicular to the ground for so long. Finally after what seemed like several more hours, Hayate finally advised you to stop before the katana consumed all your chakra.

"Gah, my arms," you groaned, giving your stiff and aching limbs an experimental twitch.

"Take the rest of the day off," Hayate suggested, giving you a concerned glance. "Tomorrow, we'll practise actual combat."

You tried to give the katana back to him, but your arms were shaking so much that you were worried you would accidentally hurt him. Instead of handing it to him directly, you placed the sword by Hayate's feet.

"Thanks, sensei," you said, jumping off the rock.

"Asuma wants you to meet him at Yakiniku Q," he instructed, taking the katana in his palm.

"Oh, okay!" You were planning to head home to take a long, relaxing shower, but it could wait. "I'm on to it."

-:-

"[Name], you lucky girl," Ino said enviously, giving you a good-natured glare. "Why did Asuma-sensei let you skip the mission?"

"Hey, I had to do training!" you protested, laughing. "I wish I could've gone on the mission instead."

"Are you kidding?" Shikamaru asked, as Chouji nodded his head vigorously. "That mission was such a drag, even for just a D-rank one."

"It was still a mission though," you said, your eyes sparkling. "So tell me, how did it go?"

Ino gave you a disbelieving look. "Honestly, [Name]. You should know by now that the three of us rarely agree on anything, right guys?" Shikamaru and Chouji nodded fervently and you stifled a giggle at the irony of her words. "Look here, we had to sort some store's merchandise in alphabetical order, and the shop owner made us do it _four times_ because she claimed we weren't doing it properly."

"Was your training as bad as that?" Shikamaru eyed you sceptically.

"Well, no," you said defensively. Ino gave you a smug I-told-you-so look. "But I wanted to be part of our first mission, that's all."

"So how was it, your training?" Chouji asked curiously.

You shrugged. "Hayate-sensei made me balance a sword in my hand with chakra. It was boring, not to mention painful. But tomorrow should be more interesting."

"Hayate?" Shikamaru asked, perking up. " _Gekkou_ Hayate?"

You contemplated for a moment, trying to remember if that had indeed been his last name. "I think so. Why?"

"He's one of Konoha's most talented kenjutsu masters," Shikamaru explained. "And from what I've heard, he's going to be proctoring one of the stages of the Chuunin exams this year."

"You're _so_ lucky!" Ino sighed dreamily. "You get to train under some powerful sensei like that? And he could even give you tips on what to expect for the exams. Geez, I wish Asuma-sensei'd let me do that."

Asuma laughed. "Keep in mind, you do have your clan's mind-controlling techniques at your disposal. Would you rather give that up and endure the gruelling training regime that [Name] is going to have to put up with? Besides, Hayate is sworn to secrecy," he added, his eyes glinting.

Ino sniffed, but didn't reply. Just then, a waitress arrived with a platter of meat and vegetables.

"Food!" Chouji cried happily, whipping a pair of chopsticks into his hand.

"Great," Ino muttered, giving the meat a disgruntled glance.

"Let us celebrate the success of our mission!" Asuma declared, giving his irritated-looking team an amused glance. "And the success of [Name]'s training!"

"Hear, hear," Shikamaru grumbled sarcastically.

"Delicious!" Chouji mumbled, his mouth full of barbequed pork.

-:-

The next day, you went to the clearing where Hayate had instructed you to meet him.

"Good, you're here," he said, relieved. He handed you the katana and pulled out his own, which was longer and tapered at the point. He unsheathed his and indicated that you should do the same.

"Now, let us spar," he said, coughing.

"Spar?" you squeaked, giving the razor-sharp blade an apprehensive look. "But isn't that a bit dangerous?"

"I won't injure you," Hayate promised. "And I doubt you'll be able to lay a scratch on me just yet."

He shifted his weight and got into position, prompting you to follow. You weighed the katana in your hands and swung it experimentally a few times.

"Ready?" he asked. You nodded and lunged at him with the sword outstretched. Hayate sidestepped with such speed that you drove your katana into the ground by mistake. Yanking it out, you tried again.

"You're missing an important component of this training exercise," he called as you attempted to pull your sword out of a tree trunk. "Remember what you learned yesterday?"

"Chakra!" you gasped in realization. You closed your eyes, focusing a stream of chakra into your blade, but Hayate knocked it out of your grip at once, disrupting your concentration.

"Hey!" you complained, opening your eyes and shooting him a look.

"Sorry, but you need to realize that on the battlefield, your opponent is not going to give you time to focus your chakra. You need to do it quickly, or at the same time as you swing your sword."

You picked it up from the ground and swung it at him, trying to simultaneously imbue the blade with chakra. The edge flickered faintly with pale blue light, then died abruptly as your sword met Hayate's in a deafening clang.

"You need to keep it up, especially during an attack," he scolded, giving a soft cough. "What good will it do if you stop your chakra flow whenever your blade hits mine?"

Your head drooped, and you gave him a small nod.

"Now try again," he instructed. "Practise your chakra imbuement until it's as natural as breathing."

Hayate swung his katana in a half-circle, catching yours with the powerful momentum. Your sword was wrenched from your grip and clattered to the ground. You picked it up, sending a stream of chakra into the metal and holding the handle as tightly as you could to avoid dropping it again. He manoeuvred his katana, changing its direction as you tried to move out of the way. You tensed, bringing yours upwards just in time to feebly block an incoming blow.

"Chakra," he reminded you.

"Got it." You gritted your teeth, trying to free your blade and infuse it with chakra at the same time.

-:-

Hayate glanced at the reddish sky, wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. "It's getting late. Let's head back."

"Okay," you agreed amiably, sheathing your katana.

"You're improving at an incredible rate," he praised, taking it from your hands. "If you continue like this, with any luck, you'll be able to return to your team and perform missions."

"Great!" you said cheerfully.

"Though you're going to have to train extra hard," he warned you. "Meet me here again tomorrow and every day at 5 AM, got it?"

"What…?!"

_Go to_ _**Chapter 69.** _


	43. Konohamaru!

You let out a yelp of surprise as a small shape hurtled in your direction and crashed into you, knocking the both of you over.

"Sorry, [Name] nee-chan!"

You glanced down at the yellow and blue lump sprawled on the floor and a grin spread across your face. "Oh hey, Konohamaru."

He stood up, dusting himself off. "[Name] nee-chan, I have some a message from the old man!" he declared, puffing out his chest importantly.

"From Hokage-sama?" you asked, surprised.

He nodded. "My grandpa wants you to go to his office. He has something to discuss with you. Something to do with your training, and he wants you to go there as soon as possible."

"I see." You thanked Konohamaru and went off in the direction of the Academy to pay the Hokage a visit.

You slipped into the administrative section of the building, strolling through the hallway until you came to the office door. You knocked twice, waiting.

"Come in."

Pushing open the door, you entered and quietly closed it behind you. Glancing around, you spotted the Hokage immediately. You gave him a small bow.

"Good afternoon, Lord Hokage."

He puffed on his pipe, his eyes twinkling. "Do you understand why I've summoned you here?"

You shook your head, your eyes falling upon the familiar form of Asuma standing a few metres away from him.

"Sensei!" you exclaimed.

The Hokage beamed. "It was ultimately Asuma's decision, of course. He noticed that you were at a disadvantage, seeing as you do not have a clan _hiden_ technique. He suggested that you learn elemental ninjutsu, to counter this inconvenience. What do you think?"

You were relieved. "Of course, that sounds like an excellent idea, Hokage-sama."

He smiled at his son, who looked faintly embarrassed. Asuma fumbled in his vest and handed you a crumpled piece of paper. You smoothed it out, surprised.

"What is this for?"

"To test your chakra's affinity towards certain elements," he explained. "Watch."

You stared at the white paper as the edges began to glow faintly with chakra.

_The paper ignited and turned ash? Go to_ _**Chapter 63.** _

_The paper split in two? Go to_ _**Chapter 64.** _

_The paper wrinkled? Go to_ _**Chapter 65.** _

_The paper crumbled into dirt? Go to_ _**Chapter 66.** _

_The paper became soggy? Go to_ _**Chapter 67.** _


	44. Kakashi's Carbon Copy

You didn't really think Naruto was in any danger, so you went for the bells. As your kunai supply was completely depleted, you had no choice but to utilize shuriken instead. Leaping off the tree branch, you tossed a flurry of the star-shaped discs at Kakashi's form.

-:-

He heard, saw, and felt you coming all at the same time. Kakashi had done that bell-flicking stunt on purpose, solely to test your regard for Naruto's well-being. If you had loyally continued to work with him, he would have reconsidered his preconceived notions. However, it was clear to him now that he needed to address his concerns about your independence as well as that Uchiha kid's. Come to think of it, he supposed yours was more urgent.

Catching all seven of your shuriken in one hand, Kakashi utilized the body flicker technique to sneak up behind you without you noticing. Much to his displeasure, this move reminded him of Minato-sensei, further reinforcing your resemblance to Kakashi's younger self.

Stifling a groan at his revelation, he prodded you in the back just as you alighted on the ground, whipping your head from side to side in alarm. You jumped violently, and found yourself face-to-face with your sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei…?!" you squeaked, your hand flying to your hip pouch. You had run out of kunai, and now even your shuriken supply was down. Now, all you could rely on was your meagre arsenal of jutsu. You prepared yourself to perform the body replacement.

The alarm suddenly rang, startling both you and your sensei.

"I guess that's it," Kakashi mused, tucking your shuriken into his own pouch. "Time does fly when you're having fun, doesn't it?"

"I-I'm not…" you spluttered, flabbergasted. Kakashi smiled cynically under his mask, but you didn't catch it.

-:-

"Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. You all pass."

You were tied to the log, feeling absolutely miserable. You knew what was coming next. Suddenly you felt woozy.

_Read_ _**Chapter 23,** _ _the return to this page._

"[Name], you fail."

"But sensei…!" Naruto protested indignantly, giving you a concerned glance. "That's not fair!"

Kakashi ignored him and your recent fainting episode. "The rest of the team will start a joint mission tomorrow with Team 8. And [Name], you have one more chance. You will partake in some training…with me."

You stared at him, your mouth agape. His verdict was so unexpected, you felt a flicker of doubt. "But after I'm done training, you'll send me back to the Academy, right?"

"That depends," Kakashi shrugged his shoulders apathetically. "This mission was a training exercise after all. You'll just be embarking on a second, more difficult training exercise. The rest of the team, you're dismissed. [Name], stay here for a moment."

You wanted to tell him that you couldn't go anywhere anyways, seeing as you were tied to the log. But you kept your mouth tightly shut as Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke left the training grounds. Kakashi waited for their chakra presence to be completely out of earshot. Then he cleared his throat.

"By observing your actions, I've concluded…"

You held your breath, waiting in trepidation.

"…well, there's only one way to find out if I'm right, isn't there?"

You were confused. Kakashi handed you a slip of paper, which you took hesitantly.

"Pinch it between your fingers and imbue it with a small amount of your chakra," he instructed. You did as he asked, and to your amazement, the paper began to wrinkle before your eyes.

"Just as I assumed," Kakashi said, groaning inwardly.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" you exclaimed, looking at the crumpled paper in awe. "Why did it do that?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's nothing special. The paper is made from trees that have been fed with chakra, so it can react easily with yours. This wrinkling demonstrates that you're lightning-natured."

"What are you then, sensei?" you asked curiously, sensing his disapproval. What could be so bad about being lightning-natured?

In response, Kakashi pulled out another piece of paper and held it up for you to see. Prominent creases formed on the smooth surface, much like the one in your hand.

"So…so then…" You gazed at the wrinkled paper, open-mouthed.

"That's why," he said, sounding weary. "I will be teaching you. You'll be learning Lightning Release nature transformation, and perhaps technique of my invention that I call, the _Chidori._ "

"And then you'll pass me?" you asked meekly.

"That depends."

You gave him a questioning look.

"You'll have to perfect this jutsu, and I promise you — it won't be easy."

"Got it sensei!" you saluted. "And um…can you untie me now?"

Kakashi gave you an amused glance. Then he pulled a kunai out of his sleeve and handed it to you.

"Thanks…"

_Go to_ _**Chapter 70.** _


	45. Steadfast

Naruto was much more important than getting the bells. Concentrating your chakra, you fashioned several shadow clones and sent them hurtling towards Kakashi as a distraction. You instructed one of them to toss one of the kunai that was on the ground at you, because you didn't have any left. While your clones confronted Kakashi, you jumped onto the memorial stone beside Naruto.

"Hey, [Name]-chan!" he said brightly. "You've come to rescue me?"

"Yeah," you replied, panting. You tried to sever the ropes binding his body, but it was difficult to cut through the thick fibres without ending up hurting Naruto in the process. You had to do it slowly and carefully. "How did you end up like this anyways?"

He blushed. "Well, sensei was pretending to be me ever since I was tricked by those bells under the tree. He put me under a genjutsu, and when I escaped, I found lunch." He pointed at the bento boxes stacked neatly on the memorial stone beside him.

"I see…he had me fooled the entire time," you muttered, hacking through the last of the ropes and freeing Naruto.

"[Name]!" Kakashi's booming voice from behind made the both of you jump violently.

"Y-yes sensei?" you asked timidly, turning around. You flinched. Kakashi looked absolutely furious.

"Naruto broke the rules by trying to eat lunch in secret, and I tied him up for a reason. You're supposed to focus on getting these bells, _not_ helping those who don't listen!"

"I'm sorry, sensei!" you squeaked, shielding your face with your hands. "You see, Naruto and I were working together, and I can't just leave him behind…"

A flicker of emotion crossed the visible part of Kakashi's face, but it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. "That's no excuse," he said flatly.

You hung your head, your kunai slipping from your slack grip. "I'm sorry," you repeated. "I didn't know Naruto broke the rules, and I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to help him."

"Sorry [Name]-chan," Naruto said quietly. "It's all my fault."

The alarm went off.

"Time's up," Kakashi said conversationally. "Naruto, you'll be tied to the stump for trying to eat lunch early. And [Name], you'll also be tied to the stump for trying to help him."

-:-

You squirmed in your bindings, disliking the feeling of the coarse ropes chafing against your skin. You wished Kakashi would hurry up and finish talking, so that Sakura and Sasuke could eat their lunch. Then, you would be untied. Hopefully.

"None of you will need to return to the Academy."

"Really?!" Naruto cried, delighted.

Your eyes widened. "But you said if we ended up tied to the log, we would fail! Does that mean…"

"What? But all I did was scream and faint," Sakura said, her eyebrows raised. "Was that okay?" A smile lit up her face and she began to jump joyfully up and down.

"Yeah…you four," Kakashi said, smiling slightly. "Are being dropped from the program!"

You and Sakura froze. Sasuke stopped breathing.

"W-what do you mean?" Naruto ventured, looking positively furious. "We couldn't get a bell, but why?!"

"Because you are just kids who don't deserve to be ninjas."

From beside you, you felt Sasuke stiffen. In a flash, he had leapt to his feet, running at Kakashi and radiating an aura of killer intent.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gasped.

Kakashi flicked Sasuke aside, pinning him to the ground in effortless ease. "See? You four are just kids."

"Don't step on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screeched, waving her arms around madly.

Kakashi ignored her protests, still holding Sasuke's arm at an uncomfortable angle behind his back. "Do you think being a ninja is easy? Why are we training by breaking up into groups of three, and in our case, four? You don't understand the answer to this test. Naruto and [Name] have barely scratched the surface, but that's not enough. Going halfway in a real mission will never cut it! Don't you understand _why_ you're in a group of _four_?!"

"So…what about it?" Sakura asked, her voice trembling slightly. "W-we've been meaning to ask you, sensei."

"Teamwork. Not just partial teamwork, but for all of you to cooperate, as a genin squad! But it's too late for you to notice now. If you four had come at me all at once, you might've stood a chance. This test tries to put you all against each other, by there only being three bells when there are four people. This training exercise is meant to select genin with one specific trait — those who can prioritize teamwork before themselves. Sakura!" Kakashi barked, causing her to jump. "All you cared about was Sasuke, and you didn't bother yourself with Naruto and [Name]'s well being when they were right in front of you."

Sakura hung her head, ashamed.

"Naruto and [Name]! All you did was work together as a pair, not considering the rest of your team in the process." You and Naruto slumped guiltily in your respective restraints.

"And Sasuke!" Kakashi looked down at the Uchiha trapped under his foot who gave him a scathing glare. "And you decided to do everything by yourself, because you believed that the others were too weak and would only burden you. Missions are done in groups, because teamwork is more important than individual ability. The inability to cooperate can lead to severe consequences, such as the injury or the death of a teammate. For example…Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!"

He held a kunai to Sasuke's throat and eyed Sakura, gauging her reaction. She flinched, her hand flying to her mouth. Naruto made a choked sound and tried to scoot as far away from her as possible in the limited space set by the ropes.

"That's what will happen," Kakashi said serenely, retracting the blade from Sasuke's neck.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I thought you were serious."

"If someone is taken hostage, you will be faced with a difficult situation. Someone will die. In every mission, you put your life on the line." Kakashi pointed at the memorial stone. "Look at all the names carved into this stone. They are all praised as heroes in this village. But they're not normal heroes…they are those who are K.I.A."

He paused, letting that sink in. A horrible feeling of realization washed over you. Something must have happened…for Kakashi-sensei to be so strongly adhered to the idea of teamwork. Your eyes closed of their own accord.

"The names of my closest friends…are carved here as well."

You stared at the ground, pity filling your heart. What would it have been like, to suffer through that? "Kakashi-sensei…" you whispered.

He turned, and his visible eye was like flint, hard and cold. "I'll give you one more chance. However, this test will be much harsher after lunch. Eat only if you are up to the challenge. But Naruto and [Name] are not allowed to eat. It will be their punishment for breaking the rules. If anyone feeds either of them, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules here, got it?" He added, seeing everyone's stricken faces.

Kakashi turned on his heel and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sakura and Sasuke lifted their bento boxes gingerly from the ground and opened them. They ate in silence, and Naruto and your stomachs grumbled loudly as background noise.

"I'm okay, even if I don't eat! I can go without food for days!" Naruto declared, but his stomach growled again, and his shoulders sagged. Sasuke paused, then handed him his bento.

"Here."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Huh…?"

"But Sasuke-kun, sensei just said —" Sakura objected, her chopsticks poised mid-bite.

"Don't worry, I don't sense him nearby. Naruto, when you're done, give it to [Name]. The four of us are going to have to get the bells together. It's only going to slow the team down if you two go hungry."

Sakura bit her lip and looked at you, her expression softening. "From the looks of it, Naruto probably needs all the food he can get. Here, [Name]. You can have mine."

Your eyes widened at the unexpected generosity. "Are you sure…?"

She nodded. "I'm on a diet…I mean, well, I don't eat that much anyways. Just take it, hurry!"

Glad that your hands were free, you took the bento gratefully in your hands and took a tentative bite of rice. At the same time, Naruto bit into Sasuke's meal and a strong gust of wind blew across the field, blowing the box of food out of your hands. The four of you shielded your faces as an unnatural cloud of smoke burst from the ground, and Kakashi's face emerged, looming in front of you.

"You four!" he growled. "You broke the rules. Are you prepared for your punishment?" He performed a series of hand seals and the clouds in the sky darkened ominously. "Any last words?"

The ground began to tremble.

_Read_ _**Chapter 23,** _ _then return to this page._

"Because the four of us are one…" You heard Sakura say, her voice trembling but filled with determination. Your eyes fluttered open.

"Kakashi-sensei, what did you do to [Name]-chan!" Naruto's voice was frantic, jarring you awake. "Tell me, what did you —"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke's irritable voice came from somewhere to the left. "She's awake."

"That's your excuse?" Kakashi asked threateningly. "The four of you are one?"

"We're all in this squad, and we're all in this together," Sasuke stated, his voice hard. Naruto gave a vigorous nod.

"You pass."

Kakashi must have seen the shock in all of your faces because he went on to explain that Team 7 was the first squad to have ever passed. You listened quietly, something tugging on your heart.

"We'll start our first mission tomorrow," he finished, tossing a kunai at you. "And free yourself and Naruto will you?"

You nodded, catching the knife precariously in one hand. Then you proceeded to slash through the thick ropes, feeling relieved.

"I did it! I'm a ninja!" Naruto declared importantly, squirming in his bindings.

"Stop moving, Naruto," you complained. "It's hard enough trying to cut these ropes without you wriggling around."

"Ah, sorry [Name]-chan," he apologized.

"[Name], come on!" Sakura called. She was waiting for you, but drifting away as Sasuke moved farther and farther into the distance.

"Coming!"

_Which one of the following applies to you, to a greater degree?_

Shinobi rule # 4, ‘a shinobi must always put their mission first’. Missions are the pride of an organized ninja village, and you must honour this. Go to **Chapter 71.**

_Missions shmissions, you’d much rather be spending your time elsewhere. You'll complete them if necessary, but it doesn't mean you like it. Go to **Chapter 72.**_

 


End file.
